#headed back up to the big city tomorrow to meet with friends for lunch :)

[m3l0nfl0at]

hey blondie - k. tsukishima

tsukishima kei x f!reader ; brothers best friend! tsukki x yamaguchi’s sister! reader, accidental meetings, kind of slow burn, grumpy x sunshine trope, loosely based off of hey blondie by dominic fike, fluff, angst, sendai frogs team cameo!!, overprotective brother yams, yapper gf x listener bf, they both misunderstand each other at times, and 12k words

summary ; accepting a blind date with your coworkers brother leads you to meeting one of your brothers friends. will you hit it off? or will your brother's overprotectiveness prevent you from being with each other?

melody's recommended melody ; hey blondie playlist

Feeling something bump you on the back of your head, you turn around quickly to be met with Akiteru’s gaze. Your eyebrows lifted in confusion while shrugging your shoulders. He points his finger downward at the paper he threw at you. Following his finger, you see the jumbled up piece of paper lying on the floor. Uncrumpling it with a huff to find Akiteru’s messy handwriting, “Blind date with my brother tomorrow?”. You lift your eyes up to see him staring at you in anticipation, knowing that Akiteru has been trying to set you up with his brother since forever. Now normally, you would politely decline saying you wanted nothing to do with dating. However, seeing all of your friends introduce you to their newfound partners, you think you’ll take a chance on Akiteru’s brother.

Checking the box that says yes, crumpling the paper up, throwing it back to Akiteru. You find him slowly unfolding the paper with both eyes shut tightly. His uneasiness soon turned into celebration, feeling victorious that he finally got you to agree. Taking note of the time you see that it’s lunch time, gathering your things to head out only to be stopped. Akiteru hands you his brother's number, telling you to text him when you get the chance. You grab it curious on why Akiteru was so fixated on getting you together with his brother. Not thinking much of it, you stuff the paper in your pocket deciding to deal with the situation when you get back. As you start to get a quick bite you get a call from your brother, “What’s up Tadashi?”.

“Well if it isn’t my sister who finally answers my calls! Do you know how long I’ve been calling you for?”, you giggle at your brother's frantic tone. “Sorry Yams, I was busy with work but what’re you calling for?”, you hear a sigh from your brother. “I know this is when you take lunch. I'm near your work and want to meet up at that new cafe?”, open the door to said new cafe. “I’m already here, so hurry up. Since you’re so deprived of Vitamin me.” Yamaguchi goes quiet, hearing only the mutter of city life behind him. “Sorry.”, Yamaguchi laughs. “Yeah, you should be. See you in five!”, hanging up the call to order for your brother and you.

Sitting down after retrieving your order to only hear the little bell on the door jingling, looking up to be met with a green head of hair. “Took you long enough, Tadashi. You took so long that my lunch break is over.” Yamaguchi stares at you wide eyed, as you start grabbing your things pausing halfway. “Oh man Yams, you should see your face! I’m joking, sit down before my lunch is actually over. I have like a whole hour for lunch, don’t worry about it.”, Yamaguchi sits down pouting, upset that you made him look like a fool. “So big brother, anything new and interesting with you?”, you look up at him while sipping your coffee, almost burning your lip. “I told you to stop drinking things that are so hot! You’re going to burn your taste buds!”, he grabs the cup from you, placing it down. “Nothing is new, Yachi and I went to go watch our friend play volleyball yesterday. Oh! I fixed the copier today, so that’s new today, I guess.”, you giggle. Wiggling your eyebrows, “Yachi, huh? Who’s that, a new girlfriend?”. Yamaguchi chokes on his drink, furiously waving his hands around, “No! No! We’re just friends! I swear!”.

“What about you, huh? Anything new sis?”, you hesitate about telling him that your coworker is setting you up on a fake date. “Well, not really but you know my friend, Hana, she got married last week. Oh, and Sayuri got a new girlfriend! So, yeah I think your copier story has got me beat this time.”, you look blankly at the pastry you picked up. Yamaguchi looks at you pitifully, thinking of someone who he could set you up with. Yet, it didn’t help that he only had a handful of friends plus they were all off limits. None of them were good enough for you, not even Tsukki. You’ve never even met them before so it’s not like he can just randomly tell all his friends, hey did you know I have a sister! Shaking off the thought, “Well, love comes when you least expect it right?”, you nod knowing you were in no rush.

Yamaguchi’s phone rings, he holds it up before excusing himself to go outside. Staring at him through the glass to find him red-faced. Taken back, you try to read his lips only to make out the words, no way and no you can’t come. You laugh at your brother refusing someone until you see him deflate, knowing that whatever goofy tactics he did ended up failing. Dragging his feet all the way back into the cafe, “What was it? Did the great copier break again?”. “No, it was my friend. He said he wanted to join us, even though I told him no.”, you laugh knowing your brother has always been a pushover. “Well, is it so bad that your sister finally meets your friends?”, your brother nods. “Yes, it is bad. They’re boys, I don’t trust them. You can meet Yachi and that’s it everyone else is off limits!” Yamaguchi crosses his hands making an X.

“What are you even saying?”, you look up to find a stranger with tousled blonde hair and half rimmed glasses. Yamaguchi freezes, slowly lifting his gaze up to the stranger. “Is this why you didn’t want me to come? You were meeting someone?”, you freeze but not out of fear. “I’m Yamaguchi’s sister, nice to meet you!”, the stranger stares at you before sending you a soft wave, his face puzzled. “Well look at the time. Tadashi, it was nice seeing you but I got to go! Let’s meet up soon, okay.”, you get up quickly, worrying you won't make it to work on time. Tsukishima looks to where you were sitting before looking at Yamaguchi, “Spill.”.

Yamaguchi lets out a deep exhale, “Ok, yes I do have a sister. Regardless, she’s off limits so don’t even think about it Tsukki!”. Tsukishima rolls his eyes at Yamaguchi’s refusal. Of course he thought you were… aesthetically pleasing to look at. Yet, Tsukishima still respects Yamaguchi and decides to not protrude where he’s not welcomed, it’s not like he’ll actively seek you out anyway. He’s sure if he did Yamaguchi would reject every time he tried. Going about their day, the pair stay in that quaint cafe. Tsukishima pretending he didn’t just meet you for the sake of Yamaguchi. While you quickly walk your way to work trying to forget the handsome stranger's face.

Heading into work, settling back into the flow as you suddenly get interrupted, “Have you texted him yet?”. You turn around watching Akiteru question you, “No, I'm sorry I went to lunch with my brother but you know what I’ll text him after my shift.”. As Akiteru starts walking away you remember what you wanted to ask him, “Hey Aki, can I ask you why you’ve been wanting to set me up with your brother?”. He turns around placing his hand on the back of his neck, “My brother is kind of…reserved. He doesn’t really go for things. Seeing your personality, I figured that maybe you can take him out of his shell a bit.”, you think about his answer and debate if you could be with someone the opposite of your outgoing nature.

Well, you never know unless you try! You smile at him, thanking him for being honest and saying you look forward to meeting his brother. You grab the piece of paper from out of your pocket, inputting it into your contacts before sending out a quick message. “Hello, Is this Akiteru’s brother? He told me to contact you regarding our date, are you available tomorrow night? (‘•.•’)?” Putting your phone away to continue your work day, feeling confident as to what’ll come out of this date.

Back at the cafe, Tsukishima’s phone vibrates on the table interrupting Yamaguchi mid conversation. Tsukishima glances down looking at the notification being from an unknown number, picking it up seeing your text. “Who is it, Tsukki?”, he quickly replies, placing down the phone. “Nothing, my brother set me up on a blind date with his coworker.”, Yamaguchi perks up excited to see Tsukki show some initiative on his love life. “What? You? You agreed to a blind date with someone your brother picked for you?” Yamaguchi chuckles a bit at Tsukki’s abnormal behavior. “Shut up, Yamaguchi.”

Just as quickly as the day started, it ended. Beginning to pack up your things to leave so you could make the train. Walking to the station looking down at your phone to see a response from Akiteru’s brother. Not paying attention you bump into someone, “Oh, I’m so sorry!”. Looking up to find the stranger at the cafe, your brother’s friend. “Just be sure to watch where you’re going. I don’t think Yamaguchi would want you hurt taking the train.”, you freeze at his monotone voice. You see him heading the same way as you, not wanting to think you’re following him you decide to lurk steps behind him.

As you see him taking the same local train you were, dammit! Hoping on looking for a spot anywhere but near him. Glancing around to find none, deciding to stand holding onto the bar above. Pulling out your phone glancing at the text Akiteru’s brother left, “I’m available. Did you have a place in mind? Call me Kei, my brother talks very highly of you so no need to be formal.”, you feel hopeful especially since he sounds so nice over text. “Let’s do hotpot! The weather is getting slightly chillier, it’s the perfect season for it! ৻( •̀ ᗜ •́ ৻)”, sending it excited for tomorrow. Tsukishima faintly chuckles at your joyful response, agreeing that the weather was getting slightly chillier enough to enjoy hot food.

Looking over at the stranger you met earlier today to see him zoned into whatever was on his phone, the train comes to a stop. He looks up catching you staring at him, you wave. He looks around to make sure you’re waving at him. You knew your stop was next, deciding to overcome your nervousness you sat next to him. “Hey, I’m Yamaguchi’s sister! I know I left abruptly earlier, sorry about that. You’re Yamaguchi’s friend, right?”, Tsukki blankly looks at you taken aback by how friendly you are. “Yeah, I’m Yamaguchi’s longtime best friend. My name is Tsukishima by the way.”, you repeat his name to make sure to keep it stored. “Well Tsukishima, it’s really late what’re you doing out so late at night?”, you cock your head to the side, curious. “I could ask you the same thing.”, he raises an eyebrow in your direction. You pout, “Well don’t tell Yams but I usually leave work this late. Now, your turn.”. “I practiced a little too late, I wanted to practice on my jump float serve.”, you quirk up knowing that that was Yams signature move in high school.

Before being able to respond you feel the train come to a stop, looking to see your stop was already coming up. “Man, I was looking forward to talking to you more. Maybe get some dirt on Yams but it seems like the universe has a different plan, my stops approaching. It was nice talking to you Tsukishima!” You get up and wave goodbye seeing him wave back this time. Tsukishima realizes he never got your name, doubting Yamaguchi would give it to him. He feels a bit exhausted after that conversation, you were the embodiment of energy. It kind of creeped him out, you were like a combination of Yamaguchi and Hinata. Pulling back out his phone to respond to his blind date, “Hotpot sounds good, send me the address and I’ll meet you there tomorrow at 7:30.”

Getting ready to leave, you make sure to stop by Akiteru’s cubicle, letting him know to give you good luck. He sends you off with two thumbs up, telling you not to worry and if Kei does anything let him know so he can reprimand him. Walking to the station you look at your phone texting Kei that he is still able to make the date to which he responds with a simple yes and see you soon. Getting onto the train, you see Tsukishima sitting down already. “Is this seat taken Tsukishima?”, you smile at him. He looks up to you shaking his head allowing you to sit down, “You know I didn’t get your name. All I know is that you’re Yamaguchi’s sister.”. Sitting up you realize you never told him your name, urgently telling him and apologizing for your manners. “What brought you on the train this early today?”, you giggle as Tsukishima calmly manners your conversation from yesterday. “I have a blind date actually, I didn’t want to tell Yams yesterday because he gets all overprotective.”, Tsukishima pauses.

Suddenly everything goes in slow motion. Were you Akiteru’s coworker? No way that’s bizarre, maybe you have a different blind date? You look over to Tsukishima seeing him stare into oblivion, poking his shoulder. “Earth to Tsukki-”, “Do you know Akiteru?”, you laugh. “Yeah I do, he's my coworker actually, why?” Tsukishima pauses, staring at you deeply waiting for it to click in your mind. You stare at him oblivious, before it suddenly dawns on you why he would know Akiteru and how he suddenly had the same facial features as him. Laughing to fill the awkward silence from Tsukishima, “Who could’ve guessed? I mean I should’ve, you resemble Akiteru! Whew, I feel relieved. I’m not going on a date with a complete stranger.”

Tsukishima panics mentally, Yamaguchi said you were off limits. Should he say now that you guys can’t be anything but friends? Can he even be friends with you? How should he go about this? “Don’t overthink so much Tsukishima! My brother won’t care, let’s just enjoy our hangout together!” hearing you take off the label of a date eases him a bit. Deciding to just stop the overthinking mess in his head to enjoy this hangout with you, a hangout that’s all it was. “It’s not like we have to tell my brother anyway. He keeps Yachi and him a secret anyway.”, Tsukishima looks over at you surprised. “He says Yachi doesn’t like him but they both attend all my games together. If someone as oblivious as you can figure that out then I feel bad for Yachi.”, you look at him offended.

“I’m not oblivious! I just use my brain only for work. Anything after that doesn’t need much thought.”, Tsukishima grimaces at that. “Any improvements on your jump float serve?” Tsukishima is surprised your brain remembered that small detail. “No actually, now I see why Yamaguchi practiced religiously. It’s like just when I’m about to do it, I hit it and instead serve regularly.”, you place your elbow on your stomach thinking back to Yams practicing. Remembering how relentlessly he trained to hit that complicated serve. “Well knowing how hard Yams worked in high school he was like on level twenty.”, Tsukishima questions what you’re about to say next. “Whereas you’re like level five, don’t get so down on yourself. It’s not like you suck at volleyball, take your time.”, he’s shocked how realistic you are while also being so aloof.

“If you were paying attention, mister, I'm so oblivious. Then you would know our stop is next, see I pay attention. Come on, let's get our things together.”, you smile, grabbing Tsukishima’s hand. He falters, shy by the sudden physical touch. You look back, seeing him nervous before pulling back your hand. “Oh, I’m sorry! I should’ve asked before grabbing your hand.” Tsukishima brushes off saying it’s fine as he clasps his hands together. Following your lead to the hotpot place, Tsukishima learns you only allow yourself a hotpot twice a year. You tell him he should feel lucky that you’re sharing this rare experience with him to which Tsukishima side eyes you.

Entering the hotpot restaurant you say hello to the owner who welcomes you and Tsukishima kindly. Tsukishima likes how friendly you are, it allows him to sit back and observe. He prefers not talking too much instead enjoying the rare opportunity to be silent. However, you snap him back into reality as you let him choose what broth he wants to go into the hotpot. After picking an equal amount of veggies before heading to sit down at the table. After settling in, Tsukishima starts cooking the meat, adding that he doesn’t really have a big appetite. You wave him off saying it’s fine, “Let’s get to the good part Tsukishima. Have any good dirt on Yamaguchi?”

Tsukishima looks up at you to see you grinning evilly with your chopsticks in hand placing the veggies in the broth. He really thinks to himself if he did have dirt on Yamaguchi only thinking of one story. “Yamaguchi drunkenly admitted one time that he had a crush on Akiteru.”, you blink before belly laughing. “Oh my gosh, is that why he never let me hangout with you? Maybe we should try getting them together! Oh but he likes Yachi now.” you deeply think how to redeem Yams love life. Tsukishima playfully rolls his eyes, “What about you? Why did Yamaguchi keep you a secret for so long huh?”, you look at him surprised that he was so blunt. “Well, Yams told me it’s because he didn't want any of you making a pass at me. You know the overprotective type but I guess time has a different plan, huh?”

Tsukishima fiddles with his fingers after plating all the beef, knowing he was thinking so much you lift up a baby corn. “These are my favorite, the veggies have been cooking for a while so they should be perfect! Here try.”, Tsukishima closes in, taking your offer and trying the baby corn off of your chopsticks. He agrees that the veggies are done and cooked to perfection, lifting up a thumbs up. You visibly light up at Tsukishima’s agreement to which he smiles just a bit. Even though you and Yamaguchi don’t really look alike, he sees it in the mannerisms you share. Both liking affirmations that you’re doing something right, opening up to people more when you feel comfortable with them, and both sharing the same smile.

Tsukishima leans over to grab more vegetables and broth, just because he wants to see you smile again he praises you for the tasty broth you picked saying he was suddenly feeling really hungry. Not much to his surprise you light up and Tsukishima feels satisfied, when he gets home he’ll have to thank Akiteru for making him go on this date after all. You lift up the broth with your ladle, Tsukishima stops you. “That’s way too hot. You’re going to burn yourself.”, you look at him puzzled. “How do you know that?”, Tsukishima questions if you’re just oblivious or if you have poor eyesight. “The steam coming out of it? Let it cool down first.”, you listen, looking at him as he nods. Lifting it again only to realize he was right, the temperature allowed you to really take in the flavor. That bastard!

Not wanting to give him the satisfaction you changed the conversation. “I know you play volleyball but what’s your position?”, Tsukishima glances at you. “Middle blocker, I essentially just block the ball. Not very flashy, I know.” You stop him, “What that’s awesome! That’s why you’re super tall, it gives you the advantage! Plus, I would watch all the rallies with Yams. Men's Volleyball players spike that ball hardcore, meaning you would have to keep a really steady arm.” you stop yourself realizing your rambling. “It might not be flashy but you’re a part of the team so it’s important.”, Tsukishima agrees. Happy that you made his insecurity into something positive.

That night, you and Tsukishima continue to talk about various things from your siblings, your past school life, and your jobs. This is where you find out Tsukishima actually works near you at the Sendai museum. You hype up his job even more than you did him being a pro volleyball player. Tsukishima didn’t talk often, he gave the occasional nod and even some small input here and there but it never felt forced. He was actually paying attention to what you were saying, putting importance on every single word you were saying. Talking to him felt comforting even if he just stayed quiet, you liked someone who just listened to you talk about the random things in life.

After finishing up your hotpot, you bid a goodbye to the owner, thanking them for the delicious meal. They laugh saying to enjoy the rest of your night. You find Tsukishima glancing over at you holding your bag. You walk over to him, “So are you taking the same train as me again?”, Tsukishima nods. “I’m taking the same route as you. It would be rude of me to not walk you home. I can’t let my friend's sister walk home alone, it wouldn’t be safe.”, you accept his offer as he links your arms making sure not to get lost in the crowd. Making it to the train he offers you a seat, sitting down next to you, handing you your bag.

You didn’t know if it was the broth or the hard day at work but you were exhausted, glad that you ended the day with a new found friend. Feeling your phone vibrate you take it out to see a text from Tsukishima, he points to your phone when you look at him confused. The text read, Are you tired?. “Did you really save me on your phone as Kei?”, you nod. “You told me I could call you Kei, did you redact that statement?”, Tsukishima glances anywhere but at you. “No, you can call me Kei.” you laugh, you guess Yams isn’t the only pushover. You text him, I’m tired. (っ,-) My stop is next though so I’ll be fine! ദ്ദി(• ˕ •マ.ᐟ). “How do you come up with those things so fast?”, “If I teach you will you start sending them back?”. “No, no way.”

On the train ride you learned that Tsukishima isn’t really enthusiastic unless it’s about Volleyball, he never has a big appetite, and he loves music and dinosaurs. To which you added that your favorite dinosaur is a Pterodactyl due to always wanting to fly instead of being tall. Tsukishima sidney’s you thinking you made a dig at him, to which you start laughing. You tell him later to text you his playlist, wanting to hear his music taste but Tsukishima rejected saying he doesn’t just share that information with anyone. Approaching your apartment, you declare that you will get close enough one day that he’ll have no problem giving it to you.

“Well blondie, we’re here! Thanks for walking me, I mean you’re right who would mess with me when I have a six foot personal guard dog.”, Tsukishima huffs brushing off your comment. “When can we hang out again?”, Tsukishima is surprised you wanted to hangout again due to him being mostly silent this date. He didn’t think you would find him interesting enough, “I guess we could meet at the cafe tomorrow for lunch?”. He fiddles with his fingers, “Ok! I take lunch at one so make sure to meet me there. Don’t leave me waiting.” You walk off forgetting something, “Thank you Kei, I had a lot of fun.”, you walk up to your door waving to him before closing your door. He watches you close the door before calling Akiteru, “Hello, Kei. What’s up?”. Tsukishima takes a breathe, walking back to the station, “Thanks.”. “Thanks for what?”, Tsukishima hangs up not wanting to get gushy over the phone, opting to instead put on his headphones.

Walking to your office in the morning you expected Akiteru to question you. However you did not imagine that he would be sitting in your cubicle waiting for you. Akiteru hands you a cup of coffee as you settle into your workflow. “How was it?!”, you flash a smile towards him as Akiteru stares at you wide eyed. “It went well! Tell me about it!”, you think about telling him, debating whether or not you should. “We went to get some hotpot and we’re going to hangout today for lunch. That’s about it.”, Akiteru lights up, excited about the potential of your relationship.

“I don’t want to put a label on anything but I want to be friends first. So sorry Akiteru, you’re going to be playing the long game.” He deflates at your comment expecting a love at first sight story. Akiteru thanks you for your intel because he knows Kei would never tell him anything. You sip on the coffee Akiteru brought you almost instantly burning your tongue. Remembering last night where Tsukishima stopped you and Yams scolding you the day before. Placing down the coffee cup with a huff. Of course they were best friends, they both nagged at you like they were the same person. Thinking of Tsukishima, you pull out your phone to see if he ever texted you back last night about what cafe you guys were going to be at. “Did you forget already? The one we first met at, you need to pay more attention.” You huff, he even reprimands you while texting. Reacting to the text with a thumbs up, anticipating your lunch break.

Hours go by slowly as you spend every hour glancing at the clock. As soon as the clock strikes 12:00 you get up to head to lunch, telling Akiteru you were heading out. Walking to the cafe you feel your phone vibrate, “You’re late.”, you know that tone anywhere. “I’m actually on time, you’re earlier. It’s a five minute walk, just sit down and look pretty you’ll be fine.” you hang up on him, laughing at your remark. As you were putting your phone back in your pocket you feel it buzzing again. “Kei-“, “Kei? Who’re you talking too!”, you freeze, Yamaguchi called. “Keitru, Akiteru, sorry my coworker was bothering me.”, you hesitate wondering if he’ll believe your cover up.

“Whatever, want to meet up for lunch?”, you open the door to the cafe, Tsukishima waving you over. “Sorry Yams, I’m actually with my coworker eating lunch.”, Tsukishima glances up blankly, scared. “Oh that sucks, ok well maybe some other day then.” You exchange kick goodbyes, hanging up. “You should totally see your face, Kei. You're paler than you usually are, chill out. Let’s go order!” Tsukishima gets up as you both leave your belongings in the booth. Tsukishima orders first and you’re up next ordering something iced to which Tsukishima glances at you sideways. He pays again, even though he paid for a hotpot last time.

“Why’re you getting your coffee iced?”, you look at him questionably. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”, he chuckles knowing you were going to tell him anyway. “I burned my tongue on some coffee in the morning.”, now he laughs. You roll your eyes, of course the only time he laughs is at the sake of your misery. You go to retort but he suddenly gets a call, he doesn’t make the same mistake you do. Actually looking at the caller ID, flashing his phone to you which shows the screen that said Yamaguchi. Now it’s your turn to laugh as you watch him accept the call, paler than a ghost, “What is it Yamaguchi?”.

You hear a loud “Tsukki!” over the phone as Tsukishima backs up from his phone. You beg him to put it on speaker to which he mouths no. As you start pouting he rolls his eyes, switching to speaker. “Tsukki, do you want to go to lunch together?”, he pinches the bridge of his nose. “No Yamaguchi, I’m already at lunch with someone.”, you hear Yama gasp. “Tsukki you’re with someone else?”, Tsukishima agrees with Yama. “Well I can join! Who is it with?”, Tsukishima trips over his words. “I’m with my brother.”. Yamaguchi goes silent as you giggle silently, knowing the lore between Yamaguchi and Akiteru.

“Man, first my sister and now you too. Well, I’ll leave you to it Tsukki! Have fun!”, Tsukishima hangs up. Eyes zeroing on you, furiously. “I’m never doing that again.”, you laugh at how scared Tsukishima is of Yamaguchi. “Anyways Kei, how is your day going? Besides almost dying at my brother's phone call.”, you look at him taking a sip of your drink. “Well the museum got some new properties for the new exhibit opening up.”, you urge him to continue. “It’s nothing cool, just a couple of exoskeletons of prehistoric animals.”. “Tsukishima, you have to work with me here. Please, I bet working at a museum is awesome! It’s like Night at The Museum!”, Tsukishima lifts a brow. “No way, you’ve never seen Night at the Museum?”, he shakes his head as you realize what your next hangout is.

“Basically this guy works at a museum as a guard and everything in the museum comes to life. It’s awesome.”, Tsukishima huffs. “It’s not like that at all, at least what I do isn’t. However, I really doubt anything comes to life, sorry.”, you laugh rolling your eyes. “Then tell me mister my work is nothing cool, what is your job?”, he thinks for a minute really thinking of something that won’t sugarcoat his job. “I file the paperwork for all new objects, I do bidding offers on new items for upcoming exhibits, and I give little kids tours. Does that sound interesting?”, he takes a sip of his drink thinking he finally exceeded in making his job sound lame. “So let me get this straight, you do bidding wars, talk to adorable children almost every week, and get to over analyze pre historic objects?”, he nods. “That doesn’t sound lame at all, you fraud!”, he shakes his head, disagreeing with you.

Only you could find the right words to make his job sound more exciting than it is. “Man your job is so cool, what’s the oldest thing you’ve ever bid on?”, you light up. Every time Tsukishima talks to you, he realizes just how much you remind him of that pipsqueak Hinata, are you and Hinata secretly related instead of Yamaguchi? “Nothing too crazy, I recently won some 400 year old armor the other day. That should be coming in soon along with a couple of swords and stuff.” you let your mouth hang open in shock. “You’re telling me that you’ve held a real sword before and you don’t think that’s cool!?”

Tsukishima blushes, confused as to why you’re so convinced of making his job seem cooler than it was to him. “Kei, you’re so cool. You’re a pro-volleyball player who works at a museum? So not only are you athletic but you’re also super smart? I see why my brother hid you from me.”, Tsukishima chokes on his drink. You patted his back making sure he was okay. Tsukishima gave a thumbs up, looking down at his fingers. He’s received compliments before just not like this. Not compliments that felt like they’re permanently going to be etched in his mind. Or compliments that felt so heavy on his heart that he wanted to explode in embarrassment.

“Oh look at the time! I hope I didn’t keep you too long Kei! My work isn’t too far but I’m not sure how far your commute is?”, he waved his hand not wanting to concern you with that. “Bye bye Kei! We can hangout this weekend! Movie date at mine!”. You left Tsukishima to deal with all the glances of nosy people who overheard you. He picks up after him heading back to his work, texting you “If we’re both picking movies then we have to watch Jurassic Park.”. His eyes bulge out of his sockets, “Deal! I’ve actually never seen it before. (ᵕ—ᴗ—)”. You wait for Tsukishima’s reply, shocked when you look at your phone. “Lame.”

The weekend approached, texting with Tsukishima on and off about what you had planned to do on your date. He wasn’t really surprised when you didn’t end up telling him, chalking it up to it being a suprise. Tsukishima rolls his eyes at your response, heading out with his headphones and bag. Opening the door and locking up, “Hey Tsukki! Where are you headed to?”, he turns around seeing Yamaguchi and sighs, upset that he locked the door for nothing. “I’m going to my brothers for the day. I won’t be back till later so don’t wait up.”, Yamaguchi nods, unlocking the door and stepping in saying goodbye to Tsukki. Closing the door, Tsukishima lets out a breath, maybe he shouldn’t keep doing this. What’ll happen if Yamaguchi finds out, is keeping this a secret even worth it?

Tsukishima’s thoughts cloud over his head, he doesn’t even know how he ended up at your door. Lost in the music and his thoughts, he pulls out his phone double checking if he had the correct address. Knocking once he’s confirmed everything, you open the door, sparkles and all. While he wasn’t going to exaggerate saying all his thoughts just magically went away, being with you did lessen the weight on his shoulders. With you he wasn’t in his head all the time, more present in the moment. When you took in Tsukishima’s quietness you opened the door wider, “Don’t leave me hanging Kei, we have two movies to get through and some cake to make!”.

You know Tsukishima was abnormally quiet, you didn’t want to bother him though. Tsukishima didn’t seem like the person to open up so easily. So instead you choose to distract him, pulling him by his sleeve to your kitchen seeing all the ingredients displayed nicely. “We’re going to be making strawberry shortcake!”, Tsukishima looks over to you. “Did you ask Yamaguchi what my favorite dessert was?”, you blankly stare at him. “No way it’s my favorite dessert too! As if Yams would ever answer any of my questions about you. Plus, it’s super easy to make!”

“What Jurassic Park are we watching?” Tsukishima snaps out of his daze. “The very first one, it’s the only important one anyway.”, you whisk all the wet ingredients together missing the Tsukishima that was more vocal than usual at the cafe. Deciding to do what you do best, fill the silence for the both of you. “I wouldn’t take you as someone who likes something as sweet as Strawberry Shortcake.”, Tsukishima laughs. “I may not be the cheeriest person but that doesn’t mean I lack taste.”, you chuckle looking over to Tsukishima. Starting to see things you haven’t seen before like how he has the faintest smile lines or how he has a scar in between his fingers, most likely from volleyball. These details don’t really stand out to you but once you start looking at Tsukishima as more than just your brother’s Pro-Volleyball player friend, you’ll see that maybe there's more to him than you think.

“Can I ask what you like about strawberry shortcake?”, you say with a soft tone. Tsukishima looks at you, fully taking in your expression before answering. Curious if you were actually asking what he likes about the strawberry shortcake or what he likes about you. Yet you showed no change in your emotion, he debates whether or not to be blunt and define what you're asking. Not willing to put his pride aside, he decides to find common aspects in you and strawberry shortcake. “It’s very vibrant and pretty. It’s not overly sweet, more like sweet in a refreshing way. Every time I take a bite it’s like being at ease, nothing else but me and the shortcake.”, you turn around confused. “Are you attracted to the shortcake Kei? Why are you so detailed?”, Tsukishima’s speechless and embarrassed. You really were just talking about the shortcake. “I was expecting, it’s so yummy or I love strawberries! However, I think you might be in love with strawberry shortcake, maybe you should marry it.”, you pat him on the back then place the cakes in the oven.

Tsukishima fills the awkward silence with what he knows best, music. Playing his monthly playlist, you turn around quickly lighting up at the music playing. You look at Tsukishima but he hastily looks away, feeling very vulnerable at this moment. Your heart pumps in joy, knowing that Tsukishima trusts you enough to share something he loves with you. “Is this ADOY?”, Tsukishima glances down at his fingers, nodding. “You’re right, you’re a man with taste.”, you playfully wink at him. “I saw them live last year, they were so cool! This song is my favorite!”, you reach out your hand in Tsukishima’s direction while singing along. He looks up, shaking his head, accepting defeat and retracting your hand. Feeling that Tsukishima might not be the dancing type. Until Tsukishima reaches for your hand as it almost completely retreats, linking it together with his. You both swayed back and forth, spinning until you felt dizzy as the cake scent filled the room. Laughing when you had to go on your tiptoes to reach your arm over him. At this moment, his thoughts were now completely gone.

As the music stops, you hear your timer beeping. You slowly pull away your hand with a smile, cautious not to cause any misunderstandings. “Oh Kei, you have to come look at this. It’s beautiful!”, Kei looks at the cake not understanding what you’re seeing. Nodding anyway, you put the cake away to chill as you grab some snacks so you can watch Jurassic Park while the cakes chill. “Kei if this movie sucks, you’re so taking me to hotpot again.”, Tsukishima rolls his eyes. “If it sucks it's because you’re uncultured, not because of me.”, you smile happy that he’s back to normal.

“You’re telling me this all happens because some jerk turns off the power in the park?”, Tsukishima nods. “Ok, but who’s smart idea was it to be like “Hey, let’s replicate dinosaurs!”? They’re extinct for a reason!”, Tsukishima questions your opinions. “At least the T-Rex saved them at the last minute. Not all dinosaurs were bad.”, you agree with Tsukishima. “That is until the new ones where they do the exact same thing again!”, Tsukishima chuckles, shaking his head. “No, the Chris Pratt one’s don’t exist, forget those from your brain altogether.”, you laugh. “Well at least my movie won’t scare the crap out of you but first, let’s frost that cake!” you grab Tsukishima’s hand, dragging him to the kitchen.

Grabbing the piping bag and handing it to him, Tsukishima looks at you questionably. “You can’t pipe frosting dino boy?”, his face falls. “Here let me show you, since you’re so clueless without me.”, you press down on the piping bag. Really concentrating on how to delicately place the frosting, Tsukishima watches you. Really glancing at your concentrated face more than your piping technique. “See it’s easy, even though it looks kind of crooked that doesn’t matter.”, you look up to see Tsukishima grinning. You’re taken aback, having never really seen Tsukishima smile before, curious what’s got him smiling. “You must really like strawberry shortcake, if it makes you smile that much.” He shakes his head, scoffing. Tsukishima couldn’t love something, that’s lame.

He picks the piping bag from you copying exactly what you were doing, he backs up noticing that his piping was off. He looks back to see if you were watching, disappointed to see you snickering. Going behind him to help him, “You’re putting too much pressure Kei! Here, softly and pick up, see!”. He feels your hands encapsulate his, your hold firm but yet so gentle as if putting too much pressure would mess up the cake. Blushing at your frame behind him, you slowly let go letting him handle the rest of the frosting. “There you go Kei! You’re the best!”, you flash him a thumbs up, he scoffs in return but you see the blush lightly decorating his face. You smile going off to fetch the strawberries that he cut. Placing them down on the cake while Tsukishima frosts. Grabbing some frosting and placing it on Tsukishima’s nose, he eyes his nose in disbelief, grabbing it and spreading it back onto your cheek. You laugh going to your sink to wash your face, grabbing a knife and some plates.

“Are you ready for the best strawberry shortcake you’ve ever had?”, Tsukishima lifts a brow. “You did hear me when I said this is my favorite dessert right? Meaning I get this often.”, you nod still stubbornly confident. “Meaning I’ve eaten this many times and am a very harsh critic.”, you close your eyes smirking. “Tsukishima, you underestimate my baking abilities. My brother says I have the best shortcake recipe ever.”, he stays quiet. “Your brother's favorite food is soggy fries, I don’t think I trust his opinion.”, your shoulders fall. Cutting a piece and handing it to Tsukishima, feeling defeat in talking up your baking abilities. He takes a bite and falls silent but you notice this small sparkle in his eyes, “I made you eat crow! Tell me Tsukishima, it’s the best! Come on, tell me.”, you wag your finger waiting for his compliments.

Tsukishima avoids eye contact, “It’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be, I’ve had better.”. You lean closer to him, “I’ll accept your feedback but you have to look me in my eyes and say it.”. Tsukishima’s voice falters as he tries to look you in the eye, he notices your eyes zeroed in on him, wanting to prove him wrong. “It’s ok, I’ve had better.”, you laugh calling his bluff. “Well since it’s so bad, I’ll let you take the leftovers home. Any objections?” Tsukishima stays silent, no rebuttal. “That’s what I thought blondie, come on take your cake and let’s watch the superior movie.”

“That is nothing like working at my job. Maybe if I was more delusional and romanticize everything like you do it would feel like that but no, not even remotely close.”, . “I know that this is not what your job is like, duh, it’s a kids movie. But you have to admit it was more entertaining than Jurassic Park.”, Tsukishima shakes his head. You huff, Tsukishima sure was prideful never admitting you were right. “You know if you don’t say i’m wrong then you’re saying i’m right.”, you smirk getting close to him.

Tsukishima laughs, “I aspire to be as wrong and delusional as you one day.”. You stutter back, before getting really close to his face, “At least I can admit when I'm wrong blondie.”, you smirk. Tsukishima’s jaw clenched, his voice lowers as he moves more into your personal space only a couple of inches separating you two. “Are you saying I’m stubborn?”, you smile, knowing he’s playing right into your game. Whispering in a sarcastic tone, “Well look at the state of you, not wanting to admit that I’m right. What would you call yourself Kei?”. You inch closer to him, he stares at your lips, “Tenacious, I would say I’m tenacious.”. You chuckle, holding eye contact with him, not wanting to let him win in making you feel timid.

Kei looks at you then down at your lips, you start to tilt your head. Waiting for Kei to lean in, giving you the green light to continue. He leans in slowly, you start to anticipate feeling his lips on yours. Wondering how he would kiss you, would he kiss you softly? Just as you start leaning in you back away, interrupted by Tsukishima’s phone ringing. You feel yourself deflate, laughing. Of course, the universe was against you. Tsukishima pulls away, groaning as he picks up the call. “What do you want Kogane?”, his voice very sharp and his hands rubbing his brows. “Yes Kogane, I know practice is tomorrow, what about it?”, he now answers very calmly and sarcastically.

Tsukishima looks over to you before quickly fleeting his gaze somewhere else as if he didn’t just try to kiss you. “No way. I’m not going to put it on speaker Kogane.”, he rolls his eyes. “I should’ve never shared my location with you. Fine, I’ll ask her. Don’t call me back.”, you laugh wondering what he was going to ask you. He hangs up, suddenly standing up right, “Want to come to my practice tomorrow?”. Tsukishima watches as your eyes sparkle, happy that he asked you. “Of course! It’s going to be so sweet! I can see your block and you can show me that new serve you’ve been working on!”

Tsukishima gets up after looking at the time, cursing himself for losing track of time. Grabbing his tote bag, “Don’t get your hopes up, I haven’t fully aced it yet.”. You get up going to the fridge, handing him the cake you packed for him. “With me there I think you’ll kill it!”, you wink and open the door. “Be safe Kei! I can’t wait to see you at practice tomorrow!”. Tsukishima watches as you close the door feeling nervous that you’re going to watch him practice. He puts on his headphones listening to the song you were dancing to earlier, smiling. Heading home and text you on the bus where his practice is and a playlist of his. “We’re officially best friends! The famous Tsukishima Kei sent me his playlist! (ó﹏ò｡)”, he locks his phone. Rolling his eyes and smiling at your dorky response.

Arriving home, he hears Yamaguchi still awake. As he places his things on the table, trying to make space in the refrigerator. “You’re finally home Tsukki. Oh? What’s that big container?”, Tsukishima glances back at him. “Shortcake.”. Yamaguchi jolts up, voice raising, “Can I have some Tsukki?”. Tsukishima nods, “Get some before I put it away.”, Yamaguchi scrambles to find a plate and utensils. “This is so good Tsukki, it reminds me of my sister's shortcake! She makes it the best!”, Tsukishima tenses up. “Whatever Yamaguchi, I’m going to go to my room.”, he places it back in the fridge. Quickly retreating to his room to ignore any further questions or comments. He reflects on the day he had with you, anticipating tomorrow as he listens to the same song on repeat.

Walking to the gymnasium Tsukishima sent you, humming while feeling your heart bump out of your chest in excitement. You were never really allowed at Yamaguchi’s games due to your presence making him more nervous. Reaching the gym, walking in to look around, bumping into a stranger, immediately apologizing. He turns around as you look up to him, noticing he kind of looks like a mix of the Pokémon, Dodrio and Farfetch’d. “Sorry miss but interviewers aren’t allowed in here.”, you clear your throat. “Sorry, I just came from work but I’m with Tsukishima, he invited me to watch his practice.”, you scold yourself for coming straight from work. The man perks up in excitement, “You're her!”. You slightly start to shake your head, “Yeah, I’m her? All good things said, I hope.”, the stranger laughs before extending his hand out to you. “I’m Koganegawa, Tsukishima’s teammate.”, you reach out shaking his hand. “You’ve heard about me?”, your chest tightens. Feeling surprised that Tsukishima talks about you since he seemed like the type to keep his personal life quiet. “Oh, we had to drag it out of Tsukishima that he is seeing someone.”, your heart speeds up.

Were you seeing Tsukishima, is that how he described it? You hadn’t thought about it that way, everytime you were going on these dates, you just felt so comfortable that it didn’t even feel like a date. Usually when you went on dates you felt uncomfortable and uneasy but with Tsukishima it felt simple. Shaking your head, paying attention to what Koganegawa is saying. “He was showing up to practice less uptight and leaving practice earlier than usual. When we asked he turned all flushed, we knew something was up.”, he leaned in whispering. “He must really like you if he wanted to keep you a secret that bad.”. You force down your foolish grin, opting to laugh instead, Koganegawa starts laughing with you, finding you and Tsukishima’s relationship adorable. “Ok, Kogane, that’s enough. We’re scrimmaging in ten, get ready.”, you tilt over Koganegawa’s silhouette to see Tsukishima walking over to you. He suddenly stands taller than before, as if he's trying to one-up Koganegawa.

He comes up to you, placing a hand on your back, your eyes widen in surprise. Is this really the Tsukishima who was awkward when you grabbed his hand? Looking up at Tsukishima, who shows no change in his face yet his body language says everything you need to hear. “I’ll show you to the bleachers, Kogane tell Kyotani I’ll be there soon.”, Koganegawa nods, bidding you both goodbye. You laugh taking Tsukishima’s hand off your back, “Jealous much, Sulkyshima?”. Tsukishima turns away, rubbing the back of his neck, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”. Following him to the bleachers, “Whatever you say Tenacious Kei.”, wiggling your brows at him. Tsukishima suddenly regrets ever asking you here, especially if you were just going to poke him while he’s down.

Reaching the bleachers you glance down amazed, seeing all of his teammates getting ready for the practice match. Tsukishima fiddles with his hands, “Best seats in the house for my supposed “Good Luck charm”.”. You glance back grinning ear to ear, “Do well Tsukishima!”. Everyone from below you looks up to see Tsukishima ears turning the deepest shade of red. He nods, heading down knowing that his teammates were going to be picking on him as soon as he gets down.

“Do well Tsukishima!”, Kyotani fakes an obnoxious female voice. Tsukishima stops before facing him, “Who’s cheering for you Kyotani?”, he says smirking. Kyotani quiets down, retreating back to his position. Tsukishima looks up at you in the bleachers, watching you admire the whole gymnasium and the decorations that adorn it. Catching him look at you, sending him double peace signs and smiling. He feels his brain short circuit, sending you a discrete peace sign back not wanting to get any further attention. He hears a whistle blow, his brain instantly focuses on the game ahead of him wanting to put on a good show for you.

You watch as Tsukishima shuts down a couple of blocks, some he deflects to bounce off his hand. Scared to cheer but internally screaming for Tsukishima every time he helps score. A timeout gets called and you watch the teams gather together to rework their strategy. You see Tsukishima shocked with how tiny he looks compared to his other teammates. Even though he isn’t the tallest on his team, his shoulders were still pretty wide. You see why he’s a blocker now, you feel yourself start to get flushed. You smack your cheeks, giving yourself no time to get flustered instead focusing on the game below you.

You continue watching the game, excited that it’s now Tsukishima’s turn to serve. He looks at his hand then to you, you flash him a thumbs up with shiny eyes. Taking a deep breath before hitting it over, accomplishing a jump float serve for the first time. You celebrate because even though it’s picked up by the other team, he did it! You guess you really were his good luck charm. The ball gets passed back to Tsukishima again, watching him serve again but with more confidence than last time. In your head screaming one more point, watching as the ball floats over hitting the ground.

Celebrating as Tsukishima looks over to you as you mouth the phrase “good luck charm” and puff out your chest. Tsukishima covers the bottom of his face so you can’t see his small smile. He feels proud at this moment, winning for you, even if it’s just a scrimmage game. Although he wouldn’t admit that he won or prolonged the game just for you specifically, never. The coach calls the team together, congratulating the team who won before dismissing the team. You look at Tsukishima who waves you to come down. Excitedly jumping down the stairs, jumping into Tsukishima.

“That was awesome! You were like BAM! and BOOM! That serve was unlike anything I've ever seen! It looked regular but then it turned at the last minute! You’re awesome Tsukishima!”, Tsukishima backtracks. “Um, I’m not that great! I guess I was just having a good day today.”, you shake your head. Koganegawa and Kyotani appear behind you, clasping their hands together to mimic you and Kei’s stature. Tsukishima pulls away from you, “I can show you how to serve. Maybe not a jump float but something new for a beginner.”, grabbing Tsukishima’s arm quickly. “Let’s go!”

Tsukishima excuses himself to go get a clean ball for you as you see Koganegawa behind you. “Kogane! You were awesome in the scrimmage too! When you spiked the ball down it was so cool!”, Koganegawa laughs, feeling confident. “It’s called a setters dump. I’ve gotten pretty good at it. You can only do it every once in a while though!”, you feel your heart jump in excitement. Fascinated with the world that was volleyball. Tsukishima comes up behind you, tapping your shoulder. You turn to see Tsukishima guide you to the line. “The net looks so far away from here!”, you glance back at Tsukishima. “You got this!”, you hear Koganegawa cheer for you.

You send him a thumbs up feeling a little bit better now that you have an audience. Tsukishima rests his head near your head, placing the ball in your hand, fixing your arm. He slowly talks through the way to throw the ball and when you should hit it but you’re too focused on him being so close and feeling his heartbeat on your shoulder. He suddenly backs away, watching you from the sidelines now. You throw it up, hitting it over, only for it to hit the net. Sulking that you missed, Tsukishima laughs. “It’s your first time, you’d be naive to think you’d be able to hit it over instantly.”, you sneer at him. “Hey! Not naive, I was just optimistic!”, you square up to Tsukishima trying to copy his posture. Kyotani and Koganegawa walk up to you,

“Don’t worry he sulks when he misses too. I’m Kyotani.”, you wave, saying hi and introducing yourself back. “He’s so pessimistic, he needs someone who balances him out. Right Kogane?”, Kogane agrees with Kyotani, focusing on practicing his serves. “Shut up Kyotani. Come on, pass the ball.”, you look at Tsukishima questioning what he’ll do next. “You’re going to pass to me next, miss optimistic.”, smirking as he grabs a ball from Kyotani. You look him right in the eye, “Ok, you’re on. Don’t go easy on me either blondie.”.

“For someone who was so confident, you’re not the best.”, you pout. “I’m not a professional volleyball player, okay?”, Tsukishima notices you’ve both been practicing for a long time. Kyotani and Koganegawa both left, leaving you both in the gym alone. “Want to serve one last time, I’ll guide you through it.”, you nod. Wanting redemption for what was your last sucky serve, you can’t tarnish the Yamaguchi lineage. Tsukishima comes up behind you aligning his body with yours, softly grabbing your hand. Placing the ball in your hand, as he guides you to throwing it. Lifting both of your other hands up to hit it, watching it go over the met with additional strength from Tsukishima. You gasp, feeling victorious.

Looking behind to see Tsukishima smiling down at you. You freeze, feeling your hands become sweaty and your ears ringing. Without hesitation he softly grabs your face, you lean in tired of waiting for him to make the move. Feeling your lips meet, dancing against each other as sweetly as you both did in the kitchen. You smile into the kiss wrapping your arms around his neck as he bends down a bit. Kissing as if it was second nature to both of you, feeling comfortable and vulnerable in this moment. The way Tsukishima always felt hanging out with you, vulnerable but yet so comforted in your presence. Not wanting to pull away but slowly losing your breath, you feel him pull away first, wanting to see your face. He looks at your kiss bitten lips, the flush slowly decorating your face and your eyes glossed over with happiness.

When you pull away all you see is reluctance, Tsukishima’s brows are furrowed, his posture is tight, and he can’t meet your eyes. “I have to close up the gym. You should walk home before it gets dark.”, you reach out to Tsukishima but he just pulls away, retreating quickly to the locker room. You stand there for a couple of minutes wondering if he’ll come out but he never does. You pick yourself up and walk home, wondering what happened in that millisecond of you kissing and backing away. Did he want to keep going, did he not want to kiss you, did you misread his actions? You spiral all the way home, texting him as soon as you get home. “Are you okay? Did I do something wrong Kei?”

Tsukishima was still standing in the locker room when he got your text, he watched you leave the gym. He couldn’t help but think that this all got the best of him. He’s going behind his longest friend's back, kissing his little sister. What was he thinking? Yes, he believes you should date anyone you want by why him? Him out of everyone? He knew he messed up when your text had no personal touch to it, at first he thought he misread the ID. Hesitant to answer, scared of betraying Yamaguchi any further but also scared that he’ll hurt your feelings even more.

Yamaguchi was dear to him, Yamaguchi was the one to always snap him out of whatever mental issues he was going through, he shouldn’t pursue this further. He shouldn’t betray the only one who knows the best and worst of him. However, when he thought of you nothing even held a candle to you. Nothing was dearer than you, you supported him, comforted him, made all his faults sound positive. How could he just break your trust like that, he might have been an asshole in high school but he will not allow that to happen again. He won’t let you see that side of him, you don’t deserve it.

Feeling a vibration on your bed you look to your phone, seeing a notification pop up. “I’m fine, I just need to get something off my chest. Tomorrow, can we talk?”, you let out a sigh. Relieved that he even texted you back, “Sure but don’t scare me like that again Tsukishima! (•̀⤙•́ )”. He texts you his address, knowing that Yamaguchi won’t be home till later since he didn’t have a day off. You go to sleep feeling lighter than you did earlier. Curious as to what was going on in Tsukishima’s head. While Tsukishima was charting up all the possibilities to break his problems to you politely as he could.

Knocking on Tsukishima’s door, biting at your lips in nervousness. You watch him open the door as you take in his appearance. His hair is all out of order,, the bags under his eyes are more prominent than ever, and he’s still in his pajamas. Your heart crumbles at the sight, wanting to relieve him of whatever troubles he was having but scared to push him. He welcomes you in and you see Tadashi’s shoes and clothes misplaced everywhere. “Why do you have so much of Tadashi’s clothes?”, you side eye him. Was he cheating on your brother with you? Is that why he pulled away! Oh god this is why he pulled away! “Are you together with Tadashi?”, Tsukishima’s eyes widen looking over at you. “What? No! What are you even saying?”, you still remain stiff not believing him. “We’re just roommates. Did your brother not tell you that he lives with someone?”, you relax just a bit. Sure, they 're just “roommates”, they’re always just roommates. “Show me his room then if you’re just “roommates” then.”. Tsukishima rolls his eyes, walking you to his room, where you walk in and see no signs of your existence, did he really want to hide you that badly.

Tsukishima sees your eyes start watering, following your eyes to see you glancing at all the pictures above his desk. None featuring you or your family, you make a mental note to ask him about that later and reprimand him in the future. Turning to Tsukishima, “Okay, I believe you for now. Next, tell me what’s on your mind because you look awful.”, paying back to him his blunt comments. “I’d prefer we don’t speak in Tadashi’s room. Seems a bit odd.”, you look around nodding. Not wanting to think about your brother at this moment, following Tsukishima to his room. Sitting next to him on his bed while he gathers all the words he rehearsed all night, fiddling with his fingers. You watch as he trips over his words the first couple of times and decide to comfort him. “Tsukishima, you won’t hurt my feelings no matter what you say. You’re my friend no matter what, I’ll harbor no hard feelings. I just want you to be truthful with me, okay?”, you see him nod.

Giving him the confidence to start living outside his mind and speak up, “I don’t regret kissing you yesterday. I regret what’s going to happen after though.”, you look at him intensely. Waiting for him to finish, knowing he’s done with his talk when he stops playing with his fingers. “I thought about it and I like you as more than a friend, I like being with you. However, when we first met Tadashi told me not to go anywhere near you, something about you being off limits.”, you feel your eye twitch. Your brother proclaimed you were off limits while he hid you like the plague. If Tsukishima wasn’t being so vulnerable right now you would’ve raced to him and scolded him. Opting to instead take a deep breath and hold all your comments for the last minute. “I’m nervous that if I get with you, I’ll be giving up my friendship with Yamaguchi.”, he stops playing with his fingers, giving you the okay to talk.

“I appreciate you being so considerate of my brother’s opinion but I’m my own person. Tadashi doesn’t own me, he can’t decide who I like and don’t. I like you too, Kei. I understand though if you don’t want to go through with this relationship if you’re sacrificing a piece of you. I’ve waited for this long, I can wait longer for someone as perfect as you Kei.”, you kiss his cheek getting up for his bed. “Let me know when you’re ready, Kei.”, you start walking to the entrance looking back at him. He nods, glad you’re giving him time to thoroughly think his decision through. He hears the door click, still feeling your lips on his cheek. He goes to lock the door and sit on the couch in silence, letting the clock pass by. Waiting for Yamaguchi to come home, as he contemplates every possible decision in his head. The good outcomes, the bad outcomes, and even the extreme ones, letting them all occupy every corner of his brain.

He hears the door click, “Tsukki, I’m home!”. Yamaguchi turns on the light, jolting when he sees Tsukishima on the couch. “What are you doing? Is this how you spend your days off?”, Tsukishima slowly looks up to where Yamaguchi is. Instead of being overtaken by nerves instead tired, tired of waiting, tired of hiding, and tired of not having you by him. “I like your sister.”, Yamaguchi laughs, waving off Tsukishima’s absurd comment. “Tsukki, did you not sleep today? You met my sister for a second a couple of months ago?”, Tsukishima gets up. Walking to Yamaguchi slowly, “Your sister and I have been seeing each other for those couple of months, secretly going on dates.”. Yamaguchi looks around before meeting Tsukishima’s eyes, “Tsukki, are you sure you're okay? My sister hasn’t mentioned you once?”.

Tsukishima nods, “I wanted to keep it a secret knowing that you said she was off limits. I came to terms the other day that I liked her, I don’t want to hide it anymore.”. Yamaguchi brows furrow because suddenly it all makes sense, from Tsukki staying out late to you ignoring his lunch dates, and the final straw the shortcake. Yamaguchi fastly paces to his bag, grabbing his phone and dialing your number. “Hello Tadashi, What’s up?”, Yamaguchi hands the phone to Tsukishima angrily. “I told him.”, you freeze hearing Kei’s voice over the phone. “Is it true? No, scratch that, why hide it from me?”, you scoff. “The same reason you hid me from your friends, Tadashi. Look, I’m at a cafe near your apartment, I’ll head over right now. Tadashi don’t do anything stupid, please.”, you hang up.

To be honest, Yamaguchi wasn’t upset at the fact you both liked each other more at the fact you both hid everything from him, did everything behind his back. Yamaguchi sits on the couch angrily tapping his feet, awaiting you to arrive. He hears a knock on his door, watching Tsukishima open the door. You smile at Tsukishima, knowing it must’ve taken a lot out of him to tell your brother. “Get in here, now.”, your brother ruins the moment as per usual. Not letting him take hold of the conversation in anger, “Stop, first I want you to calm down.”, Yamaguchi looks over at you frustratedly. “Calm down, you're seeing my best friend and hiding it from me!”, you shake your head. “I didn’t mean to go out with Tsukishima on purpose, okay? My co-worker is Akiteru, when I accepted the date I didn't know they were brothers. It was just a simple fortunate event!”. Tsukishima sees you rambling but he’s never seen you rambling quite like this, this rambling is more like the nervous kind.

Yamaguchi suddenly points at him, snapping him out of his analysis of your unseen behavior. “Speaking of Akiteru, you! You don’t see me sneaking off with your brother! Don’t you hold any form of shame?”, Tsukishima clears his throat. “I wouldn’t mind if you got with my brother because that would be my brother’s decision not mine.”, Tsukishima glances back at you. You feel your breath ease, knowing exactly what Tsukishima is hinting at. “He’s right, it’s my decision. I like Tsukishima and I want you to support me and him, together.”, Yamaguchi glares at you, reluctant to let you and Tsukki get off so easily. “You’re right, I shouldn't hold a grudge against you, you’re a grown woman. You, however, Tsukki apologize to me. This is not very best friend-like behavior.”, you scoff at Tadashi's childish behavior. “Tadashi, stop it.”, you wave away Tadashi knowing he’s just grasping at straws.

“I’m sorry Yamaguchi.”, you and Yams both look at each other than look at Tsukishima, frozen. “You’re right I should’ve told you. I was scared to lose you as a friend.”, Tadashi trips over his words before you stop him knowing Tsukishima wasn’t done talking yet. Tadashi stands there surprised that you know Tsukishima’s body language despite only knowing each other for a couple of months. “More importantly I wanted my relationship to grow with your sister first before I told you anything, I’m sorry for that.”, Tsukishima looks at you. Hoping that you see that you’ve changed his mindset a bit. Yes, he’s tenacious but he’s also pessimistic and not one to admit he’s in the wrong. With you though, he thinks he can improve those parts of himself.

“I’m asking you as my best friend, if you could support us?”, Tsukishima grabs your hand, linking it together with his. As you stumble a bit at the sudden touch but quickly recover and stand up straight. Tadashi looks at you both, nodding. “Okay but you have to name your first born Tadashi.”, you go to hug him, choosing to ignore his comment. “Can I meet the rest of your friends, properly. Start letting people know you have a sister jerk! I’m off the market now, you know so you don’t have to worry!”, Tsukishima rolls his eyes thinking how dorky you sound. You pull back to go by Tsukishima’s side. “So, you apologize now Mr. Tenacious?”, Yamaguchi looks around awkwardly. “I’m heading to my room, don’t be gross!”, you roll your eyes. “I don’t apologize for just anyone, you know.”, you laugh. “Oh, so I should feel extra special since you apologized just to be with me?”, Tsukishima smiles. “Yeah something like that.”, pulling you to him. Kissing him felt even better than last time, he felt free not being held back by secrets or thoughts, overwhelmed by the senses of you.

“Hurry up Kei, we’re already the last ones there!”, Tsukishima rolls his eyes. Not really excited to meet up with his old friends, knowing they’ll just embarrass him. Grabbing his hand and dragging him to the restaurant, “Do you think anything new has happened with Hinata and Kags?”. Tsukishima lets out a breath, “From joining the olympic team, I don’t think so? They just have more of a reason to lose more brain cells over volleyball.”. You smile, “You have to be nice, Stingyshima.”. Tsukishima looks at you in disbelief, “Not you too. See, this is why I was reluctant to meet them. You’re going to start with the name calling.”, you kiss his cheek. “At least I mean it in a loving way, now stop sulking and let’s have some fun.”

Tsukishima and you enter, being greeted by your brother and Yachi first, then making your way to Hinata and Kageyama. Watching as Kageyama and Tsukishima have a weird stare off, Hinata and you laugh at how awkward the two could be. “Hinata, have you learned any new tricks?”, you glare at him excitedly. “Oh nothing too new, Kageyama and I just have to rework our quick but that’ll come naturally.”, you smile excited to see the two work together again.

Tsukishima sits next to you, grabbing your hand under the table. “Don’t worry, these freaks will have their quick down easily. It’s like second nature to them.”, Tsukishima adds slyly. Riling up the pair, “Damn it, Tsukishima.”, Hinata adds. You squeeze Kei’s hand letting him know to cut it out. To which he deflates, knowing he got caught. “What about you Yachi? Design anything new lately?”, she nods. “I designed a new ad to help support the Sendai Frogs actually.”, she pulls out her phone showing the picture to everyone. “Wow, Yachi, this is great!”, you look over the poster and see how it highlights everyone on the team.

“Your teammates look great on this Kei.”, you feel him glare at you. “You’re giving them too much credit.”, you smile. “Yachi, we should talk to our management and maybe get you to design something for the olympic team!”, you fall back watching the conversation flow. Your brother was grateful to have such good friends and you were grateful to now be a part of their group too. Taking a look around, feeling comfort in the conversation, Tsukishima lays his head on your shoulder. The conversation falls silent, “Has Tsukki gone soft?”, Tsukishima looks over. “Shut up Yamaguchi.”

divider credit to @/saradika-graphics, @/thecutestgrotto, @/animatedglittergraphics-n-more and @/princessantisocial

taglist: @0tsukie

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚ melon's marginalia: happy (late) birthday to my pookie pie! i’m kind of on the fence with how this turned out but i’m a tsukishima girly like nothing is ever perfect, okay? ty for reading!! ♡

@m3l0nfl0at on tumblr. All Rights Reserved. Do not steal, copy, or translate any of my works.

[alotofpockets]

About time | Keira Walsh x Lioness!Reader

Where your feelings for one of your best friend's finally comes to light.

My first Keira fic for her birthday, hope you like it :) @scribblesofagoonerr thank you for the idea!

Woso masterlist | Words: 1k

-----

Keira's birthday fell during England training camp this year, this meant that the focus wouldn't really be on her as everyone was busy training, but you wanted her day to be special, so you started planning some things. 

Your roommate Leah watched you call around, plan, and organise everything. “You're doing an awful lot for Kei's birthday.” The captain commented, hinting at an underlying reason for you to be putting so much effort into one of your best friend's birthday while none of the rest of the group was making a big deal out of it, but you just shrugged, “She deserves her day to be about her and not just football.” Leah knowingly shook her head. “Sure, you're right.” It was known amongst most of the team that you had feelings for the midfielder, even when you had never spoken those words out loud.

You would have training in the morning, so your plan was to take Keira, along with Leah, Georgia, and Lucy to some tourist attractions around the city you were currently staying in. Making the reservations for the attractions and dinner. The girls were all in on your plan, only Kiera didn't know about it. Your plans weren't until late, because you would have a plane to catch in the morning.

After an intense training session, everyone sat down for lunch together. Happy birthday was sung for the birthday girl, before everyone dug into their food. During dinner Sarina asked for everyone's attention. “Listen up team, there has been a change in our schedule. Our flight for tomorrow has been cancelled, so we're taking an earlier flight today. Let’s finish lunch within half an hour and then pack our bags and head out.” At the news you dropped your sandwich and walked out of the room, Leah and Lucy were quick to follow. “Everything is ruined.” Say as you notice them following you into the hallway. “Hey, it’s alright. I’m sure you can get a refund on the reservations you made.” Lucy tried reassuring you. “It’s not about the money, Luce.” Leah decides to push it, “Then what is going on, they’re just some activities, I’m sure we can do something else after we land.” 

“Because I love her, and she deserves the perfect birthday day.” The words leave your mouth before you even realise. Your eyes widened when you saw that Georgia and Keira had joined. The latter her eyes had widened at your confession too. “Lucy, Leah, let’s go pack our bags.” Georgia grabbed both their arms before they could say no. 

As Georgia whisked away Lucy and Leah, you felt your nerves kick in. What was Keira thinking? Her face was hard to read, you could read a mix of surprise, confusion, and a slight warmth. “You.. you love me?” She finally spoke, her voice filled with uncertainty. 

You weren’t able to meet your best friend’s eyes, too nervous about what her expression had changed to. “Yes, I’m sorry I didn’t mean for you to find out this way, and definitely not on your birthday. Today is supposed to be about you, and I ruined it.” Keira steps forward, and slowly reaches out to touch your arm. “You didn’t ruin anything, if anything you made it unforgettable.” You allow yourself to meet her gaze. “Yeah?” Keira nods, “Best birthday present ever.” 

A wave of relief washes over you, you hadn’t expected Keira’s response. But what did it mean? As if she could read your mind, Keira spoke again. “For what it’s worth, I feel the same way.” Your breath catches in your throat, “You do?” 

Keira nods, and moves even closer to you. She looks between your eyes and your lips, when she sees you do the same, she leans in and presses her lips gently on yours. You kiss her back instantly, you had imagined this moment many different times, but the way her lips moved against yours was better than you could have ever imagined. 

You break apart when you hear shuffling on the other side of the door. She grabs your hand and pulls you towards the elevators. “I think we have a plane to catch.” You follow her with a smile, and a happy heart. “There is actually one more  thing that could make this the perfect birthday.” She said nervously once you entered the elevator. This immediately piqued your interest, you wanted her to have the best birthday ever. “Will you be my girlfriend, y/n?” Your smile grows impossibly larger. “Yes, I would love to.” 

Hand in hand you walk into your shared hotel room, only to find the rest of the girls all staring back at you. “Does this mean…” Leah asks hopefully. “That she’s my girlfriend? Yes it does.” You say while squeezing Keira’s hand. Saying that out loud for the first time sounded so right. The three of them congratulate you with hugs before G interrupts the get together. “I hate to break the love birds up, but you two need to pack your bags.”

The two of you walk into the main entrance of the hotel hand in hand, which does not go unnoticed by your fellow teammates. “Is this finally happening?” Beth asks for all the wondering minds.”Yes it is.” Keira puts her arm around you and kisses your head. “It was about damn time!” Beth giggles, and earns a few comments in agreement. “Alright team, let’s head to the airport.” You're escorted back to the bus that will take you to the airport, and you not once let go of Keira’s hand, not caring what the public saw. You were happy, and nothing could break your little bubble.

As you boarded the bus with Keira by your side, a newfound sense of elation filled your heart. Despite the sudden change in plans and the unexpected confession, the day had unfolded in a way you could never have imagined. Keira's smile was all the confirmation you needed that your feelings were reciprocated, and as the bus hummed with the chatter of your teammates, you couldn't help but steal glances at her, revelling in the warmth of her hand in yours, and what the future would hold for the both of you.

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y/n_y/l/n just posted

Liked by keirawalsh, leahwilliamsonn and others

y/n_y/l/n: Some would say this was long awaited. Who would've thought revealing your feelings would mean you get the girl. Happy birthday @keirawalsh x

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leahwilliamsonn: FINALLY

stanwaygeorgia: It was about time!

lucybronze: took you long enough

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[janeyseymour]

She

an anon requested this song fic based on Dodie's song. It's a really beautiful song about longing... and i attached is my own cover of the song if you'd like to hear my version of it :)

WC: ~2.6k

From the first day you began working at Abbott, you knew Melissa Schemmenti was an ethereal being. She was perfect- stunningly gorgeous, hilarious and quick witted, fiercely protective of those who she cared about- never one to back down from a challenge or threat that presented itself. And somehow you wormed your way into her heart- you still don’t really know why or how. 

Apparently, you were the absolute opposite of someone who would find themselves interacting with Melissa. You were just… you. You were young. You were positive and fun-loving, coming in with your hair done up nicely and always wearing something that had flowers on it. You were far from the blazers and jackets that she wore, but also just as far from the leather that she was usually clad in- your style was more Janine-esque. And oh how she loved to make fun of her colleagues outfit choices most days with her big skirts and ill-fitting sweaters, the clogs and shoes that didn’t have laces. The difference between you and Janine was that your clothes were shaped to your body, showing off your figure instead of hiding it- you wonder if that’s why she doesn’t make comments about your bright and sunny disposition.

But she liked having you around- she made it a point to keep you close to her during staff meetings, lunches, and outside of school- going as far as letting you come over for dinner and making you various meals.

And after so much time spent with the redheaded woman who loved to play hard and tough but was actually one of the sweetest souls, you find that you’ve developed feelings for her. The more time you spend with her though, it makes it harder and harder to mask and keep under wraps. Because she means everything to you, but you doubt she’ll ever know that. And oddly, you find that to be okay because you would rather have her in your life as a friend than as nothing at all. 

——

But are you allowed to look at her like that? Could it be so wrong when she’s just so nice to look at?

You’ve had ample time to look at Melissa- she’s always sitting next to you or across from you if you’re at her house. You would be lying if you said that you never stole a glance at her figure- it’s killer. But what really draws you in is her face and the way that she is so expressive with everything she does. Her eyes light up when she’s happy, and the way that she scrunches up her nose when she finds something so delightfully adorable melts your heart. The redhead’s smile is radiant, and you swear it could light up even the biggest of cities all on its own. And when she’s sad, you see the way that her usually sparkly emerald eyes dull just slightly in disappointment or regret. It’s in the way that she bites her lip subconsciously when she’s hesitant or nervous about something. 

“What’s got you dancing in here?” you ask as your eyes take a glance at the redhead’s voluptuous figure. Your eyes quickly flit up to her face though, and her eyes are brighter than usual, and you love the way that her smile meets her eyes.

“Just a good day,” she grins at you. “My cousin lost a bet, so I don’t have to make dinner tomorrow night!”

“Oh?” you raise a brow.

Melissa nods. “So, we’s getting Vin’s hoagies tomorrow. You’re still set to come over, right?”

“You know it,” you chuckle back. “As long as you promise I ain’t gonna get sick off ‘em.”

“You won’t. Half those reviews are full of shit.”

-

She doesn’t look thrilled coming into the break room for lunch today. Her eyes are dull, and there just isn’t the same pep in her step that there usually is when she sees you. She sits down quietly at her designated seat, keeping her head down and her mouth shut. She hardly touches her lunch that day.

“What’s got you down, Red?”

“I’m fine,” Melissa blinks quickly a few times. She tries to bring back the sparkle 

in her eyes, but it’s lacking. And it’s still lacking come the end of the day when the two of you walk out together.

“C’mon,” you say softly. “Tell me what’s going through that pretty head of yours.”

She sighs. “I think I have to break it off with Gare.”

“Oh?” you raise a brow as you adjust the strap to your backpack.

“It’s just not working out anymore,” she says quietly. “He wants more than I can give him now, and maybe ever.”

You reach out and take her hand gently. “I’m here if you need support.”

“Thanks,” she says through a sad smile as she squeezes your handle gently before dropping it.

——

And she smells like lemongrass and sleep, she tastes like apple juice and peach.

Your phone rings to life at the ripe hour of one in the morning. There is your favorite coworker’s smiling face; and with you knowing what she was going to do earlier in the evening, you answer.

“Mel?” you ask, trying not sound as though you weren’t just in one of the deepest slumbers of your life.

“Please… come over.”

“Are you okay?” you ask her softly as you pull the covers back and slip on the sneakers by your bed.

You hear her sniffle. “Not really… no.”

“I’ll be there in ten,” you promise her.

And you are. Without the hustle and bustle of the city to detour you, you’re able to pull up to her townhouse in just seven minutes. When she opens the door, you can immediately smell the scent of lemongrass that is coming from the diffuser over in the corner, and she looks exhausted- as if she’s just woken up herself. But she’s also holding a glass of wine, so you really don’t know what you’re walking into. 

“Mel?”

“I- I thought I was fine. I was drinking some of the apple wine that you know I like and I dozed off on the couch. When I woke up… it hit me that I’m- I’m single again,” she whispers. “I don’t want to be alone right now.”

“Okay,” you reply just as softly as her. “That’s okay. I’m here to keep you company.”

She nods as you reach for the bottle of peach wine that she keeps for you at her house. After she’s finished off the apple wine, she pours herself a glass of the peach.

The two of you begin to spend much more time together now that she doesn’t have to go out with Gary for dinners and for various events that his company would invite him to.

——

Oh you would find her in a polaroid picture.

Since her breakup with Gary, you and Melissa have been joined at the hip. It makes her feel less lonely, and you don’t mind being able to spend time with the woman that you’ve realized is essentially the woman of your dreams.

The two of you are currently out thrift shopping when you come across an old polaroid camera. You pick it up with wonder in your eyes. Melissa comes up behind you with a smile dancing across her lips.

“You should get it,” she says quietly. “It’s cheap, and it’s definitely vintage at this point.”

One of the people working there sees that you’re interested in the device and makes her way over. “It’s got a roll in there too. Works nice. We tried it out when it got here.”

You grin, keeping it in your hands. When the two of you leave the store, the camera stays safely nestled around your neck. 

It’s a rather sunny day out, so the redhead has her sunglasses on and looks like she’s practically glowing. Without her noticing, because she’s walking across the street, you snap a picture of her. The Polaroid comes out, and you dry it quickly as you catch up with her before looking at it. 

Yeah, she belongs in that polaroid picture. When you show it to her, she rolls her eyes. But then she gestures for you to take another. You hold the camera up to your eye, and she rolls those striking green eyes again.

“With you in it, ya goof,” she instructs.

Your lips form into a small ‘O’ before you take it off your neck and face the lens so that you’re both hopefully in the frame. She playfully pretends as if she’s kissing your cheek when you do snap the photo. The film comes out, you dry it, and when you look at it… wow. Your heart swells, and she looks at it in approval as well. 

It stays on your fridge. 

——

She means everything to me.

She just does. It’s that simple. She’s Melissa Schmmenti, and you would be a fool for not seeing her for the absolutely goddess-like woman that she is.

——

I’d never tell. No, I’d never say a word. And oh, it aches. But it feels oddly good to hurt.

You would never, ever tell her of the feelings that you’ve developed for her. Not after she’s been so upset about breaking it up with Gary. Besides, you know she says things like ‘decisive women are hot’ but what does that really mean in the grand scheme of it all? And even if she was attracted to women, who’s to say she’s attracted to you- that you’re her type at all?

And somehow, you’re okay with not telling her of your feelings. Because at least you’re lucky enough to have the woman in your life. If you were to confess your feelings and then she was never into you, it would crush you. You wouldn’t want to lose her forever. So, you hurt in silence. And it feels oddly good to hurt over this one- because at least she’s there.

——

And I’ll be okay, admiring from afar, cause even when she’s next to me, we could not be more far apart.

You sit outside of your classroom for your preps most days, responding to emails and grading papers, because you like the change of scenery. It doesn’t hurt that you usually get to see Melissa Schemmenti roaming the halls to chat with her work wife or with any of your coworker friends.

You can always smell her and hear her before you can see her, the lingering scent of lemongrass and clacking of her heeled shoes letting you know that she’s on her way down the hall. When she passes, you smile up at her. She smiles back, giving you a gentle wave, before continuing down the hall towards her classroom.

Sometimes she brings her own things out to work with you- or at least next to you. But you’re still worlds apart. Her single days now consist of going out and staying out to forget about all her problems, while you enjoy the warmth of your home. She tells you about the different people that she meets out at the bars and how they’re good company at the time, but she’s not destroyed when she parts ways with them. You know deep down that you won’t be out at the bars trying to pick anyone else up anytime soon- not as long as your feelings for the redhead are as strong as they are.

——

Cause she tastes like birthday cake, and storytime, and fall. But to her, I taste of nothing at all.

Coworker birthdays usually mean birthday cakes, gatherings, and just enjoying the company of each other. And at the beginning of the school year, your birthday falls on a Saturday. So naturally, you surround yourself with those that you love- your coworkers. Your parents are too far away, you don’t necessarily have friends around here. So, the Abbott crew is at your townhouse, happily sitting outside and enjoying the last of the Summer air with a few beers in hand before the crisp Fall air pushes in.

Melissa had taken it upon herself to make your birthday cake this year, and it’s perfect. It’s absolutely divine, and you can’t help but watch as she eats her own creation. She knows its damn good- you can see her smirk as the others praise her baking. 

As night falls, the cool air sneaks in, and you’re reminded that Fall is just around the corner. And as the moonlight, along with the streetlights out front, light up your backyard, stories begin to come out of times before you had joined the Abbott crew.

Barbara tells you all of how her and Melissa came friends, Mr. Johnson tells stories that you take with a grain of salt but deep down now that there are little bits of truth sprinkled into his tall tales. Melissa lets all of you know that compared to when she started, y’all are soft.

You hang onto her every word, and she looks to you occasionally, but her eyes mostly stay on her work wife as she reminisces about what she claims to be the good ol’ days.

Those tales that haunt the halls of Abbott somehow turn to other stories that don’t revolve around Abbott.

Compared to some of the other people in her life, you realize, you mean nothing to her at all. 

——

And she smells like lemongrass and sleep. She tastes like apple juice and peach. You would find her in a polaroid picture. And she means everything to me. Yes, she means everything to me. She means everything to me.

As your sitting on your couch alone on a Friday night, you stand to get some more wine from the fridge. Hanging on the metal box is that sweet picture of the two of you that you took on your polaroid. The other picture of just her is hanging there as well, as much as she tells you its ridiculous for you to have it hanging there- but you can’t help admiring her beauty. 

Just as your about to sit back down and dig into yet another mindless binge watch of your favorite television show, the doorbell rings.

It’s late, so you don’t answer- pretending to be asleep.

“It’s Mel, and I know you’re still awake,” you hear her voice call.

You make your way over to the door and open it. She looks… well she looks as beautiful as ever with her hair tied up messily and clad in her Eagles apparel, but she also looks beyond exhausted. But she’s here.

“You okay?” you open the door as you invite her in. Her smell lingers as she brushes past you, two bottles of wine in hand.

“I can’t sleep, as much as I tried, and I knew my favorite night owl would still be awake,” she tells you as she settles on your couch. She opens the first bottle- one that has hints of apple. Then she opens the other- a peach wine.

“You brought peach wine?” you raise a brow.

“I know it’s your favorite,” she shrugs. “What are we watching tonight?”

As the night continues on, you stay awake. But her head falls gently on your shoulder as she gives in to her exhaustion and is taken away into a dream- unable to stay awake with you and watch the world pass by in a gentle silence. 

You glance down at her. The frown lines or smile lines that are usually in her face are gone as she’s completely relaxed against you. Her warmth makes your heart swell. And she… she does mean everything to you- even if she’ll never know it. 

[pitchsidestories]

Blue Hearts II Kerstin Casparij x Reader

masterlist I word count: 2020

A/N: based off this request. Let us know what you think. 🩵

Y/N 🩵

laiaalexandri 💪🏻

womenfootballfan Caption 10/10 🔥

The Manchester City squad was taking their lunch together in the club’s cafeteria. A very excited Kerstin Casparij just told her teammates about the great conversation she had with you through social media. Playfully shocked Jill Roord placed one hand on her chest: “I can’t believe you started chatting with a stranger via Instagram, Kerstin.”

Unimpressed by the dramatics of her fellow Dutch friend the defender shrugged it off:” What’s the big deal?” “Ignore her, tell us will you meet her in a real life?”, Esme Morgan waved it off. Hesitant Kerstin bit her lip:” I don’t know yet. She seems nice on her Instagram profile.” “She seems nice, huh?”, Lauren Hemp wiggled with her eyebrows.

Equally teasing Jill asked her:  “What if it’s a serial killer?” “Only if books count as weapons, Jill. I agree with Kerstin she looks adorable.”, Esme shook her head after taking a look at your Instagram profile.  The tall blonde Dutch forward snotted:” You know there could be anyone behind that profile, Esme. You’re just so gullible.”

“Oh, shut up, you’re way too cynical for the fact that you’re in a relationship.”, the English defender shot back with a crooked smile on her lips. Amused the former Wolfsburg player corrected her:” I’m not cynical, I’m Dutch.” “So is Kerstin.”, Lauren observed, it was obvious that they shared their nationality but were very different personalities. That’s why Jill quickly responded:” She doesn’t behave like a Dutchie.”

“Oh my god, she just asked if we want to meet at a bookshop!”, Kerstin exclaimed. Grinning Laura Coombs replied:” Well, there are enough people that would probably notice a murder there.”  “True, so it’s a relatively safe meeting point from her side but I’d get suspicious if she wants to go the crime section.”, Alex Greenwood winked at the Dutch defender.

Smirking Kerstin reassured the older blondes: “I’ll text you SOS If she does that.” “Okay, good.”, Alex nodded satisfied with her answer. Curious Laura glanced at her:” That means you’re going?” “Yes, I’m starving for some new literature.”, she joked. This costed her an eyeroll of her national teammate:” No, you’re starving because you’ve not touched much of your food yet.”

“No, she’s starving for a meaningful emotional bond with someone.”, with these words Alanna Kennedy stole smiling the food off Kerstins plate. Weakly the owner of that dinner protested:” Hey!” “Cheeky chica.”, Leila Ouahabi commented. The Australian player tried to defend her actions in front of her fellow friends: “I was hoping she would go right now and leave her food here.”

“You know what? I’ll.”, motivated Kerstin jumped off her chair. Motherly Laura advised her: “Take that food with you!” “Hey.”, Alanna pouted.  Beaming the Dutch defender said goodbye: “See you tomorrow guys!” “Have fun. And call us if something’s off.”, the English forward reminded her. Groaning Jill hid the face in her hands:” This will end terrible.”

“Or it’s just the beginning of a wonderful story.“, Esme mused, watching Kerstin leave. Alanna shook her head in disappointment; “And she still didn’t leave me any of her food.“ “You can have some of mine. The English food can’t keep up with the spanish.“, Leila laughed, pushing her plate towards the Australian. With a shrug, she dug in; “I’m happy as long as there’s food.“

Meanwhile, you were so distracted looking at literature in the bookshop that you barely noticed someone approaching you. “Hi, y/n?“ You turned around to find Kerstin smiling at you. “Yes, hello, Kerstin.“, you replied politely. Your gaze got caught on the book she was holding in her hands; “Your book pick?“ Kerstin nodded, handing you her book so you could read the synopsis on the back; “Yes.“

“Great choice.“, you smiled at her, impressed by her taste already. Carefully, the football player pointed to the book you were holding; “Can I see yours?“ “Sure.“ “Thanks.“ While Kerstin examine the book, you explained; “I thought Conversations with friends seemed very appropriate for the chats we already had online.“ “I like that.“, Kerstin agreed with a laugh.

Relieved about the fact that you two were getting on as well in real life as you did online, you suggested; “They have a coffee shop here too. Do you want one? Please say you like coffee.“ “Who doesn’t like coffee?“, the dutch football player replied with a laugh. “I heard some do but I never came across that species in the literature department.“, you joked as you both started to make your way to the café.

Grinning, Kerstin admitted; “I’m no exception to that.“ “So you would like a cup?“, you asked. “Yes, sure.“ “Okay, great.“ You ordered for the two of you and sat down at a table next to a window. The smell of coffee filled the air between you two. “Wow, this coffee is really good.“, Kerstin commented right after her first sip. You wrapped your hands around your cup, happily nodding; “Yes, right? It’s one of my favourite places in Manchester?“ “It is?“, Kerstin asked, her voice filled with curiosity.

“Yes, it’s more lively than the uni library and I like that. Do you have a favourite place here?“, you answered truthfully. Kerstin took another sip of her coffee, thinking about the question for a bit; “Actually I do.“ “Apart from the football stadium?“, you grinned, hinting at your shared love for the beautiful game.

“Do you think we football players just spend our entire lives in the stadium? We also go out for coffee or dinner?“, she jokingly rolled her eyes at you. Impatiently, you leaned forward; “No, of course not. So is it a coffee shop or a restaurant?“ A fond smile appeared on the football players face; “It’s Jill Scotts coffee shop. It was the first place the girls took me to when I joined City.“

“That sounds really sweet.”, you answered. Confidently Kerstin thought out loud: “Maybe, I’ll take you there too some time.” “Yes, I’d like that.”, you told her beaming at the prospect of seeing her again. The defender looked deeply interested at you: “So, tell me something about yourself. My teammates thought you might be a serial killer.”

“I can assure you I’m not a serial killer as you know I’m a literature student who does enjoy watching women’s football with her friends in her free time.”, you replied with a crooked smile on your lips. Grinning Kerstin had to admit: “That doesn’t sound so scary.”  

“So yes, I love reading, spending time with friends, love if coffee involved in those meetings and I do own a cat.”, you added. As you mentioned your pet the Dutch player’s face lit up: “You own a cat?” Later you’d get to know that she was a cat owner aswell, making her in your eyes even more lovable. “Yes, she’s called Virginia after you probably guessed it Virginia Woolf but most of the time, we call her Ginny.”, you nodded enthusiastically.

Taking another sip of her coffee, Kerstin said: “Ginny, that’s cute.” “What about you? What do you like besides football?”, you wanted to know from her, playing with a loose string of your hair. The defender’s answer made you fall for her even more when you were already about to: “Reading and photography.” “And writing witty Instagram captions.”, you winked at her.

A warm laugh escaped Kerstin’s mouth, it seemed to have come straight from her belly: “Yeah, that too.” After the nerves of a first meeting have calmed down you two spend a pleasant time at the bookshop chatting about everything and nothing at the same time.

Right before you had to depart you handed her a book with the title Love in the Time of Serial Killers, you couldn’t help but to smirk: “Maybe you should give your teammates that book.” “Maybe, I’ll.”, the Dutch woman told you. Her brain was already busy thinking how to ask you out for another date, she wanted it to be clever and funny like you. But for now, she gave you a kiss on your cheek, whispering a hopeful goodbye and hoped for another hello soon.

On the next day Jill congratulated Kerstin chuckling:” Congrats for not getting murdered.” “Thank you. I even brought you something.”, the younger Dutch player replied with an innocent smile on her face. The blonde who was known to always have a book in her suitcase when she travelled but never read them, threw her eyebrows up at the sight of the gift:” A book?” “You’re welcome.”, Kerstin chirmed.

With a look at the present Alex remarked giggling:” I’m a big fan of the title.” “More important, how was it and will you see her again?” , Esme demanded impatiently. Turning red Kerstin mumbled: “She was very nice and I enjoyed it so yeah, I’ll probably see her again.”

Esmes face lit up with delight; “See, Jill. I was right!“ “About the fact that she wasn’t murdered? Congratulations.“, Jill rolled her eyes. “No, you know what I mean.“, the defender protested. Jill acknowledged her with a dismissive gesture; “Yeah, fine. Love won and all that.“ “It did!“, Esme nodded determinedly. “Sweet.“, Jill commented with a small smile.

Kerstin let out a sigh, giving her teammates a disapproving look; “Girls.“ But even she failed to hide a grin. “We’re happy for you, Kerstin.“, Laura said, putting a gentle hand on Kerstins arm. Impatiently, Lauren asked instead; “Will she come to our next game?“ “Maybe.“, the dutch football player replied with an innocent shrug.

Esme concluded quickly; “So, yes.“ “But I don’t want to introduce her to you.“, Kerstin added, giving each of her team mates a stern look. Esmes eyes went wide in a mixture of surprise and offense; “Why not?!“ “You guys are embarrassing.“, Kerstin laughed. “Us?“, Lauren replied, feigning shock. “Who else?“ The English midfielder shook her head in disappointment; “Rude.“ Alex Greenwood looked less than impressed as she told her teammates; “Don’t worry. Sooner or later we’ll meet her.“

Of course, Alex was right. As soon as the final whistle blew at Manchester Citys next home game, Jill pointed in the direction of the stands; “There’s blue heart!“ “Who’s blue heart?“, you asked surprised as Kerstin came over to quickly give you a kiss. “You are.“, she admitted with an innocent grin.

A smile spread on your face as you remembered the blue heart emoji you sent to Kerstin in response to her Instagram story. The blue heart that started your chatting. “Oh.“, was the only thing you could say to that before Lauren pulled you into a tight hug; “Great to finally meet you.“ “Hi, girls. Nice to meet you all too.“, you smiled at the group of football players that had accumulated around you. “We’ve heard a lot about you already.“, Alex smiled.

Jill added with a smirk; “Yes, Kerstin never shuts up about you.“ “Oh really?“, you replied, catching your girlfriends cheeks turning pink. “That is a lie.“, she protested weakly. “Nah, it’s the truth.“, Chloe Kelly disagreed. Kerstin gave you a pained look; “That’s why I didn’t want them to meet you.“ “But we wanted to meet her.“, Esme interrupted. Kerstin gesticulated towards you; “You did now. You can leave.“ “Oh no, we’ll celebrate that win with a team dinner, remember?“, their captain reminded Kerstin.

Wary, she squinted at Alex; “That was never planned.“ “Yes, it was. Let’s go, girls.“, Chloe yelled. Innocently, you gave your girlfriend a kiss on her cheek; “Sorry, love. I guess we have to join them.“ A sigh escaped her while she interlaced her fingers with yours; “I hate that you’re on their side. But I guess we do.“ “I’m just curious, you know? It’s your team after all.“, you shrugged. “Fine.“

While her teammates slowly retreated to the dressing room, you winked at her; “Don’t worry, I’ll make up for it when we’re back home.“ “That sounds like we have a deal.“, she smiled back at you. “Cuddling with the cats and reading out loud to each other?“, you suggested. Another voice interrupted your conversation; “Sounds disgustingly romantic.“ Jill grimaced in disgust while Esme rolled her eyes at her; “Jill!“

[futbol16]

I Miss You •  Steph Catley

Request: this is the combination of like 4 different requests and I hope it turned out good

Word count: 5k (so sorry;)

You let out a breath as you lean over your leg to stretch, the rest of your teammates doing the same as they cool down from the training you’ve just had.

Kyra is animatedly speaking to you on your right. The youngster is explaining how she thinks the two of you could link up the best for tomorrow's group stage game against Nigeria. The midfielder and yourself as a forward have had very good chemistry on the pitch in your previous game against Ireland and Kyra was excited to perform just as well against the African team. Your head is turned towards the brunette, however your gaze is locked onto another one. 

Emily and Steph are deep in conversation almost opposite you and Kyra and you watch as the defender stretches her hip flexor. Your eyes roam over her body as she pushes her hips deeper and you breathe in deeply at the motion, Kyra’s voice long forgotten.

You can’t tear your eyes away from her, the way her quads flex that bit, and the way her hips are moving. It’s her infectious laugh that breaks you out of your staring and brings you back to earth as Kyra’s voice becomes clearer next to you. As if she feels you looking, Steph turns to where the two of you are and she gives you a beaming smile, one that makes you bite your lip as you smile back at her, trying to withhold the massive grin that would otherwise spread across your face. 

“Alright ladies, that’s it for today. Get changed and lunch will be waiting for you in the cafeteria!” Tony announces with a clap of his hands. 

This time you make sure to actually listen to what Kyra’s saying as you make your way back towards the changing rooms for a quick shower and change of clothes. 

You’re one of the last ones to leave the locker room and you quickly tie your damp hair into a loose bun as you walk towards the cafeteria. Before you can take the last turn a hand grasps your elbow and pulls you away. Your eyes connect with familiar brown ones and you let her lead you away from where you were going. 

“I miss you” Steph confesses as the two of you come to a stop near the end of a hallway. You intertwine your fingers as you bring yourself closer to her, a cheeky smile on your face.

“I’ve been here the whole time” the defender in front of you rolls her eyes at the statement before gazing into yours again, her big brown eyes shimmering with nothing but adoration and longing.

“You know that’s not what I meant” she says quietly, almost like she’s afraid someone would hear the two of you.

You know what she means. The two of you hadn’t had the chance to have a moment to yourselves in the last three weeks of the world cup preparations and group games because you were always around your teammates. Despite seeing each other almost every hour of every day, the pair of you hadn’t been able to be close the way you could at Arsenal. 

“I know, I miss you too” you admit and Steph smiles at you, leaning into your touch as you lightly cup her face. Her hands slide lower on your body until they take their place on your waist and she pulls you into her embrace. You fight back from smiling onto her lips as the butterflies erupt in your stomach and Steph deepens the kiss as your other hand squeezes her bicep. The kiss is fervent and passionate as your lips meet over and over, almost desperate to be touching each other every time you pull away. The brunette gasps into your mouth as she feels your tongue trace her lower lip and you take your chance to slip it into her warm mouth. 

You’ve known your girlfriend long before you transferred to Arsenal from Lyon almost two years ago, thanks to the two of you playing together on the national team. But you’ve never tried anything with her until recently when she hurt herself and you realized just how much you cared for your friend.

Steph had pulled a muscle during a match against Man City and had to be subbed off in the second half. The second the final whistle was blown you were off towards the medical room insearch of your Aussie teammate. You eventually found her lying there but she didn’t seem to be in any serious pain. That didn’t mean you weren’t worried and you made sure to voice your concerns. At first you were confused as Steph only listened to your mini rant, her eyes never leaving you and her mouth slightly hung open. When you finally finished talking your eyes found hers again before they lowered as her tongue wet her lips. Before you knew it you were being pulled down and into a hot kiss by the girl. 

Both of you were so immersed in the feeling that you hadn’t thought about your other teammates possibly walking in on the two of you making out until someone’s shoes squeaked against the floor. You abruptly pulled away in panic and found Caitlin staring at the two of you with her eyes wide. She had come in search of the other two members of your Aussie trio at Arsenal to also check on Steph but it seemed like she was doing better than good.

“Woah…Mackenzie isn’t going to like this” were the words that left her mouth and made your blood run cold. 

That was the reason why you’ve been keeping your relationship a secret. The West Ham goalkeeper was your older sister and Mackenzie Arnold doesn’t play around when it comes to her little sister.

You made Caitlin promise you to not tell your sister about what she’d seen and the forward swore to secrecy despite her close friendship with Mackenzie. You knew that if your sister were to know about you and Steph she would go absolutely ballistic and her protectiveness over you would shine through even more. The two of you had a very close bond despite the five year age difference and if it weren’t for the goalkeeper you wouldn’t have become a household name so early on in your career. 

Like many of your national teammates you made your debut for the Matildas at the young age of 15. This and your talent earned you a spot on the roster for the 2015 World Cup the following year and despite your early exit in the tournament by the end of the summer you had scouts knocking on your front door. 

You didn’t want to leave Australia and more importantly you didn’t want to leave Mackenzie. She however, convinced you to sign for Lyon and after a heartfelt teary goodbye you left to join the French club’s B team.

With your sister’s words in your mind - ‘make a name for yourself sooner than later’- you started the 2016 season in Lyon’s senior team. From there you worked hard day in day out to earn your spot on every list and every roster and any award you could receive for your great achievements. 

It was difficult at first, being so young and in a foreign country with a weird language but the team helped the best they could. Still, you spoke with Mackenzie every chance you got and you missed her dearly which made you even more excited for international breaks. Your sister was just as eager to see you and made sure to keep you within reach at camps.

The brunette had displayed her protectiveness many times since you’ve left, whether that was in front of your Lyon teammates or the Matildas or just anyone, she was there glaring down at the person from behind you. And that was only if they looked at you the wrong way.

You couldn’t imagine how she’d act if she found out that one of her friends was dating her little sister. 

Steph chased after your lips as you pulled away and you gave her another peck before you moved elsewhere. 

“I’m so obsessed with you” the brunette’s heavy breathing in your ear made you go crazy and her words only spurred you on as her fingers pressed into your lower back. You nipped at her jawline, tracing the curve of it and then skimmed down her neck. 

“My pretty girl” you whispered into her skin and Steph immediately blushed as she buried her own head into the crook of your neck. Her arms moved around your shoulders and you breathed in deeply as you accepted her warm embrace. The two of you stood there hugging for a few seconds, just enjoying each other’s presence. The echo of a door being slammed shut made you come back to your senses and you pulled back from your girlfriend. 

“Come, they’ll be wondering where we are” Steph pressed her lips to yours once last time before the pair of you headed towards the cafeteria for lunch. 

Upon entering you heard your name being called and found your sister waving you over to her table. 

“What took you so long?” the goalkeeper asks you as you sit next to her, Alanna and Caitlin opposite to you.

“Aww don’t be so worried Macca, no one will kidnap me” you could only smile as your sister rolled her eyes.

“I don’t know who would want to” her joke made Alanna snort and you pushed at Mackenzie’s shoulder. “I brought you some food” she nodded to the tray in front of you and you clasped your hands to your heart.

“Chivalry isn’t dead” you gasped and the other two giggled. “Thank you” 

The day of the Nigeria match you entered the stadium in better spirits than you left it. The journey back to base camp and the hotel was relatively silent and although you scored one of Australia’s two goals you were disappointed in the way you played.

Your head rests against Caitlin’s shoulder and in any other case you’d be fighting back sleep. This time though your mind was preoccupied with thoughts of what you could’ve done better and how the team could improve for the next group game because the loss meant that now your place in the world cup was in danger. 

You’re anxiously picking at the calluses on your hand even though you take good care of them so they wouldn’t harden too much but you couldn’t care less at this moment, far too upset. 

A hand grasping your own forces you to stop and you sigh heavily as you turn to bury your head in the forward’s shoulder. 

Caitlin’s eyes meet Steph’s who sits in the row opposite and in front of you and she eyes your form in concern. As much as the captain wants nothing more than to take you into her arms and remind you football is a team sport, she cannot do such things in front of your other teammates, under your sister’s watchful eye. 

All throughout recovery day Steph’s eyes can’t seem to leave you and she finally gets her chance to talk to you as everyone is told where to go first. She slips in beside you as you exit the room with the others and you offer her a smile. Steph is just about to open her mouth to ask how you’re doing when a taller body joins your otherside. 

“What’s up nugget?” Mackenzie’s voice rings out and she pats your shoulder. Steph deflates slightly, knowing she won’t be able to speak to you privately and she’s left to listen to your conversation with your older sister.

You pray Mackenzie doesn’t notice the slight stutter in your voice when your fingers brush against Steph’s. The defender’s hand inches closer and grazes yours again but you don’t give into the temptation in fear that the keeper would notice. You’re so focused on trying not to hold her hand that you can barely pay attention to what your sister’s saying, once again too distracted by the defender.

A relieved sigh leaves Steph’s mouth when Mackenzie bids her goodbye to head towards the physios while the two of you continue towards the ice baths. This time you aren’t shy to take her hand into yours.

“Stephy baby” the brunette grins at you as she squeezes your hand and you lean into her slightly though still alert in case someone sees the two of you. 

“Are you okay?” she voices her concern and you beam up at her. 

“I am now” your words and the cheeky smile on your face has the brunette swooning and she presses a lingering kiss to your cheek before you open the door to the pools and the two of you reluctantly pull away. 

Alanna and Caitlin’s laughs reach your ears before you see them, the pair having also been instructed to start with the ice baths as recovery. 

“Come on mate, you’re so slow!” Alanna calls out to you from her place in one of the pools. you raise the shorts you’ve just pulled off into the air, threatening to throw it at her if she keeps rushing you. 

Your Arsenal teammates laugh at your antics, the brunettes already in their own pool. 

“Can’t even wait a second” you jokingly murmur under your breath as you round the pool to where Alanna is floating around. When you reach the edge you realize that she has made it into the deeper end of the pool but you’re too lazy to walk all the way back to the other side.

“Lani, help me in please” you reach your hands out towards the blonde who chuckles at your distress and paddles closer to the edge. Your hands settle on her shoulders while hers are on your sides as she helps you lower yourself into the cold water.

Upon entering a loud squeal leaves your mouth and the three are once again left to laugh at you. You instantly cling to your sister’s best friend who doesn’t mind it at all as she hugs you, continuing to laugh as your teeth chatter.

“So dramatic” she huffs and you shoot her a glare. “You are such a baby” you know she means no harm, jokes like this were pretty common amongst you.

“Yeah, well deal with it” 

Steph watches with a fond smile on her face, her own arms crossed over her body and she almost jumps in place when a smirking Caitlin appears in her line of sight.

“You’re not jealous are you?” If only Caitlin knew the reason she was staring so hard is because she wants to be able to hold you like that without a care in the world about who’s watching. “You know Lani’s like her second sister”

“And you’re her third” Steph adds with a chuckle as Caitlin smirks proudly, shrugging her shoulders as if to say ‘that’s right!’. 

It wasn’t unusual for you to be so affectionate with your teammates, especially the ones on your national team. When you first got called up as a young 15 year old, you stuck close to your sister’s side for the first few camps which meant you stuck close to her friends too. Alanna, Caitlin, Sam and Hayley were quick to take you under their wings and you were grateful for them. You basically grew up with the girls and you still maintained this close relationship. 

You missed them as well when you moved to Lyon but you were overjoyed when Ellie joined the French club too. 

When game day finally arrives you’re more than ready to show Canada just what you’re capable of. The team is well aware that the world assumes today will be an easy day in the office for the North Americans, but your team also knows just how wrong they are about that.

It is immediately clear that although the team is the same that won Canada their Olympics, they’re not playing like Olympians. Instead the ball remains almost only in the Matildas possession and it doesn’t take you long to ease the crowd’s nerves.

Just six minutes into the game Kyra catches a misplaced pass and sends it over to Caitlin who races up the field through the reds and then slides it over to you. You fool Buchanan with a body faint to the left and then move to her right before you rocket the ball past the goalkeeper. 

You’re off in a sprint immediately and you almost land on the corner flag as you jump in celebration. Caitlin catches up to you just a second before the others do and they dogpile the two of you, smiles blinding. You’re eventually pulled to your feet by Hayley who proudly kisses your forehead and you catch a glimpse of your benched teammates returning to their seats. 

The performance from the Matilda’s is one you know people will be talking about for years to come as Hayley and yourself each slot in another goal before the halftime whistle. 

“I’m so proud of you sis!” Mackenzie lifts you into her arms as you make your way off the field and your cheeks burn at the compliment. 

“Thanks Macca” she flashes you a big smile, one of those that you know is only reserved for a select few and she squeezes you one last time before letting you back on your feet. 

“My little hero, huh?” she quizzes jokingly and your sister pulls your head back into her chest as you near the tunnel. 

There really isn’t much to say during the halftime talk but Tony makes sure to voice his joy.

Your eyes shine bright as you listen to your girlfriend make her captain’s speech and you admire her in all her glory. She looked so good in the blue kit it made you drool and you’re knocked out of your trance by Caitlin’s elbow digging into your side. Steph finishes with a simple ‘let's continue keep going!’ but it has everyone pumped for the second half.

Despite the four fresh players on Canada’s side it doesn’t help them much with turning the game around and your heart almost leaps out of your chest in ecstasy when Mary gets her first goal of the tournament. The young City player was one of your good friends and you had been waiting for her to get her moment to shine and she has delivered it perfectly. 

It is clear that the Canadians are upset by the goal difference in just the 60th minute of the game. It’s getting to be near impossible for them to make it out of the group stages while the Matilda’s are cruising away with a seemingly easy victory. 

The reds start getting more physical, more aggressive and your blood boils when Hayley ends up on the ground for the second time in ten minutes. 

You’re determined to get payback for it and you get your chance to do so when Ellie sends a long ball towards you. You control it perfectly before Viens even gets to think about it and you speed off towards the goal.

Buchanan’s nostrils flare as she squares up like a bull. You’re coming in hot but she doesn’t hesitate to match your fire and she dives in without much thought. 

Everything goes silent around you as you watch the Canadian grit her teeth under you. A yelp leaves you as her studs slide across your thigh and her other leg knocks into the side of your other leg. You damn near do a side flip in the air before you land painfully on her foot that’s still raised, studs facing upwards. The crowd is screaming and it is almost deafening the referee whose whistle is fortunately still heard by the players. Your body flops limply off Buchanan as she pushes you away from her, studs still embedded into your side. 

The ringing in your ears is loud and your arm remains cradling your side, feeling absolutely winded. You gasp into the grass, attempting to force air into your lungs but it’s all too painful and your eyes water. 

Your sight is blurred with tears but you can see blobs of turquoise running towards you. Steph’s body is quivering with fear and worry as she reaches you first, closely followed by Caitlin and Emily. One of her hands finds your face as the other rests on your back.

“Breathe Y/N, breathe please” you don’t notice the shake in her voice but the other two do who jump into action trying to help you as best as they can.

Mackenzie stares at the big screen in panic as they replay the foul and she holds onto the goalpost knowing it is the only way she could stop herself from running across the field. However, as soon as she sees you on the screen and the blood on your thigh she abandons her post and races past the medics running onto the field. 

“Y/N!” she calls out as she arrives at the scene, the medics hot on her tail.

“I’m okay, I’m okay” you let out between gasps before you let your head fall against Steph’s thigh, the defender’s hand resting on the top of your head. The medics instantly move to assess the damage and one of them lifts your shirt as the other wipes the blood off your leg. 

“Oh what the…fuck” Mackenzie’s face contorts into sorrow as she recognizes the stud patterns on your ribs. By now the team is crowding you with the referee also standing close by just in case. 

“I’m good, it just hurts a lot” 

“So you’re not good” your sister deadpans and even though you’re in pain you find the energy to roll your eyes at her. 

“Y/N/N you’re going to have to go off” Alanna speaks from above your sister who nods along.

“No, I don’t want to” you shake your head, choosing to ignore the sighs both Steph and Caitlin let out from beside you. 

“Well you are” one of the medics interrupts before helping you sit up. Mackenzie is quick to stand by your side and with her arm around you, you’re led off the field and towards the bench. 

“Take care of her please” your sister nods towards Sam who’s already holding an ice pack for you.

There’s still 20 minutes on the clock and as the time ticks off the pain in your ribs seems to ache less. When you see your girlfriend step up to take the penalty in the 94th minute you’re on your feet by the sidelines. You know where she’s going to shoot it and she glances towards the bench to give you a smile before the whistle is blown. The ball sails past Sheridan smoothly  but all your focus is on Steph as she runs towards you. 

“YES BABY!” Your hands find her face as you scream into her face, her own arms spread as she braces for your teammates.

This time it’s Alanna’s turn to stare up at the screen as they replay the goal and then the celebrations. She squints her eyes as she tries to lip read, having not heard what you said. A moment later her eyes widen in shock and she glances behind her to where Mackenzie is standing in goal, wanting to check if your sister saw that too. The brunette seems to have her focus elsewhere and Alanna decides not to mention it even on the way back to the hotel, for your sake. And of course because the team is happily celebrating and shouting on the bus the whole 30 minute drive. 

Later that night you find yourself wandering into the common room of base camp and you smile to yourself when you see your girlfriend laid across one of the beanbags, her nose deep in the card album in front of her. 

“Well hello Stephy!” your warm voice makes her look up and a grin instantly takes over her expression. She’s glad to see you in much better shape and judging by the carefree look on your face, the medics have told you not to worry too much about the bandages on your thigh and side as it wouldn’t keep you out of the next match.

“Hey puddin’!” she pats the space next to her and you eagerly plop down and snuggle into her side. “Is everything okay, pretty girl?” 

You hum at her in answer as you gaze into her eyes. Your hand reaches out towards her and your fingertips skim over her skin, lightly tracing her cheekbone and Steph stares at you in a dreamy state. She sits up straighter to be closer to you and she cups your cheek to run her thumb along your bottom lip.

“I was so scared when you went down today” she whispers into the air between you, her eyes jumping across your face almost like she’s trying to memorize every detail. Just as you open your mouth to speak she leans in to claim your lips as hers. Steph kisses you deep and slow, pouring every ounce of her love for you into the kiss and you melt against her, turning putty in her hold. 

“You’re messing around with my little sister?!” the loud screech makes the two of you jump apart and you stumble to your feet as your sister comes into view.

“Macca…” you nervously call out to her. Alanna and Caitlin appear behind her too, alerted by the scream.

“Oh no, don’t try to save her guts!” your sister stares right past you to Steph who shuffles nervously on her feet, a petrified look on her face and you suddenly feel even more guilty.

“What is this Steph, hmm? Are you fucking my little sister?” she asks coldly and you frown at her. You turn to your girlfriend who lightly shakes her head at you, telling you not to try and stand up for her. Mackenzie huffs at the exchange between you and she chuckles humorlessly, staring deeply into the defender’s eyes.

“You know, when I told you and Caitlin to take care of her at Arsenal, this isn’t what I meant. I didn’t mean to date her!” she spits and you suck in a harsh breath at her tone. You were also unaware of the fact that she asked the two to watch out for you.

“Mackenzie.” Alanna’s voice makes her falter for a second and Caitlin takes this as her chance and she leads her club teammate out of the room before this could escalate even more. You whisper a small sorry to them as they walk past you.

“How long has this been going on?” you can’t lie to your sister, the both of you are very aware of that fact.

“Seven months” you shrink in your place as you see the frown on her face deepen.

“Unbelievable.” the goalkeeper shakes her head and you turn your gaze to the floor. “Why not Ellie, or Charli, or Kyra, the two of you are best friends anyway.” 

“Mackenzie!” an offended call of her name makes her look at you, well aware of how stupid her statement was. “Because I chose Steph and Steph chose me.” you tell her before your voice turns quiet. “And I’m in love with her”

Your sister stares at you in disbelief and she shakes her head again like she’s disappointed.

“I need a moment to think about this” she mumbles as she turns her back to you. Your expression breaks as tears threaten to roll down your cheeks.

“Macca-”

“Y/N, leave me alone.” she basically flees the scene and you’re left to crumble into a mess of tears in Alanna’s arms. 

“She’ll come around, give her a second” the defender murmurs into your ear and you nod into her shoulder as you calm down. Alanna’s lips form a small smile as she presses a kiss to your head. “I’m really happy for you though”

“Thank you Lani” you mumble.

You can’t fall asleep. You’re trying so hard to let your mind rest but you’ve been staring up at your ceiling for the past four hours. Finally coming to the conclusion that this wasn’t going to work out unless you eased your stress by what’s causing it, you wander down the hallway.

You knock quietly on the door and a few moments later the same defender that held you just a few hours ago opens the door for you. Alanna offers you a comforting smile as she lets you in.

“I was just about to go shower” you don’t comment on the fact that it’s 2am and she’s only now going to shower, because neither of you are supposed to be awake. You pretend not to notice the pointed look she gives your sister as she makes her way towards their bathroom.

You stand uncomfortably in the tensely silent room until you hear the shower start running and you finally look towards where Mackenzie is sitting up against the headboard. She stares at you for a second before slowly nodding her head to the space by her feet. You take her invitation and sit by her, waiting for her to say something. She never does though.

“Macca, please” you plead with her, your eyes tearing up slightly. The two of you rarely got into fights so not getting along was very overwhelming for the both of you.

“Please don’t hate me” you croak out. The statement breaks your sister’s heart and she looks at you guiltily as her face softens. 

“I could never hate you” she whispers as she opens her arms. You let yourself fall into your big sister’s embrace and she wraps her arms around you tightly. “You’re my baby sister, too important to me.”

You only nod into her neck, understanding exactly why she was so overprotective of you.

Still, you can’t help but ask that one question.

“Are you mad at Steph?” there’s a beat of silence before you hear her sigh.

“No, Y/N/N. I’m sorry I made you think I was.” Clearly whatever talk she had with Alanna just before you knocked on their door has payed off.

“So you’re okay with..” you trail off, not sure what reaction to expect from her.

“Yes, I’m okay with you and her.” you involuntarily let out a giggle of glee but Mackenzie follows with a laugh of her own. “Go to your girl, I’m sure she’s dying to see you”

You all but hop off her bed and she gives you a grin, realizing all she’s ever wanted was for you to be happy and if Steph was the one who made you happy then so be it. You give her a big kiss on the cheek and then you dash out of her room and back towards yours, knowing your girlfriend was bound to be somewhere close by.

You find Steph sitting on the edge of your bed, anxiously biting her nails as she stares off into the distance. 

“Stephy!” she’s up on her feet in an instant, and she catches you with ease as you barrel into her. A wave of relief washes over her as she takes in your excited expression, knowing that whatever had happened, it meant the two of you would be okay. 

“I love you so much” she breathes out, her brown eyes shimmering in the dimly lit room but you recognize the look in her eyes.

“I love you so so much” she repeats and she doesn’t let you answer as she dips her head and connects your lips, immediately deepening the kiss in desperate need to feel you close.

You don’t have to tell her you love her just as much, because she knows it and she’s ready to show the world how much you mean to her. After all, you did get the Mackenzie Arnold approval.

[angelst4re]

Hi angel 💕 Could you write a counterfeit jamie smut where the reader used to be friends with benefits with him and he comes back to her town on tour and she ends up in his hotel room if you know what I mean 🤭I love you’re writing <3

hi lovely!! thank you so much!! im sooo sorry for making you wait so long THIS REQUEST IS LITERALLY FROM FEBRUARY??? i hope it's worth the wait :)

Addiction- Counterfeit!Jamie x Reader

warnings: NSFW!!! this contains smut so if that makes you feel uncomfortable then please don't read!! <3

notes: it's been a while... for the last month i've been so busy and when i haven't been busy i've been thinking about noah sebastian and/or cillian murphy (jamie i am sorry i'm in a hoe phase rn!!) but i also have a henry creel drabble to post tomorrow as well so keep an eye out for that :) ALSO I WANNA SAY A BIG THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT WITH ME!!!! (p.s. this isn't proof read and i wrote this over the span of three weeks so i apologise for any mistakes!!)

When you received the message from Jamie telling you he’s playing a show in your city, you couldn’t contain your excitement. You were out for lunch with two of your friends, who were questioning the wide grin on your face. 

“Oh, I just know she’s texting Matt again,” one of your friends smirked, eyeing you up, “are you ever going to meet up with him? You’ve been talking for almost 3 months?!”

“Oh, no, it’s Jamie. He’s playing here with his band next month, he wants me to come and see them. He’s sent two tickets, I could ask for an extra one if you wanted to come with me-”

“That’s perfect! You can ask Matt to come with you!” Your other friend suggested, although it came off as more of a demand. 

“But what if he asks about how I know Jamie? I couldn’t really explain that on a first date.” 

“Well, just tell him he’s a friend, maybe leave out the ‘with benefits’ part.”

“We stopped that a while ago, actually. I haven’t seen him for almost a year, we’re kinda just friends now.” 

“Then that’s your story sorted then,” your friend grinned, picking your phone up from the table and placing it in your hand, “now tell Matt he’s got a concert to go to.” 

You were surprised when Matt texted back, telling you he’s never heard of counterfeit before, but he’ll happily listen to them and come with you. You felt a little bad for lying to him, telling him you had no one else to come with you as your friends were working that weekend. 

On the evening of the show, Matt came to pick you up. You would’ve usually dressed quite casual for a concert, specifically one of Jamie’s, but this was also a date. You stepped out of your house wearing a black dress, comfortable shoes and a cute handbag to match the outfit. 

“You look amazing,” Matt said, unable to wipe the smile from his face, “let’s get going!” 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

“That guy right there,” Matt shouted through the noise, pointing at Jamie, “is your friend?” His mouth was open in disbelief as you nodded your head. He had already had four beers, and you had only been here just over an hour. 

“Yeah, I met him at one of the restaurants I used to work at. It’s a funny story actually, some crazy fangirls were waiting outside for him to leave so I kinda helped him ‘escape’ through the back…” You trailed off as you noticed he wasn’t paying attention to anything you were saying, his attention was elsewhere. 

“Cool, I’m gonna get another drink, do you want one?” 

You shook your head and watched as he disappeared off into the crowd. 

Your eyes were drawn to Jamie, reminiscing on the times you had spent together. The times your bodies were intertwined beneath the covers and the times you spent laughing together in the car. You missed him, it was truly like it was a ‘right person, wring time’ kind of situation. 

Time passed and passed and you realised Matt hadn’t come back yet. Surely the line wasn’t that long? You just assumed he had gone to the bathroom, especially after drinking that much. But another 15 minutes passed and he still hadn’t returned, so you went to search for him. You assumed he wouldn’t have wandered far from the bar, so you were heading in that direction. 

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

You were pushed up against the hotel door, slamming it shut as his lips met yours. One of your hands found his hair whilst the other was grasping at his shirt, as if you were hanging on to him for your life. The familiar smell of his aftershave, mixed with cigarettes gave you a feeling of nostalgia, and it was as if you were experiencing deja vu. 

His hands were on your thighs, pushing your dress up higher and higher, until his cold hands met your bare hips. 

“Jamie,” you gasped, pulling back for air. As if he couldn’t take his mouth off you, his lips were now on your neck, kissing and nibbling the spot he knew would make your knees buckle. 

The last thing you expected tonight was to leave the show with the singer. With Jamie. But after you went to look for Matt, you caught him with his tongue down another girl's throat. A part of you felt sick, betrayed, but another part of you felt relieved. However, you would never admit that’s how you felt, especially not to your friends. 

Jamie had given you a backstage pass, and cleared it with security before the show. You knew how the night was going to end as soon as you received the text from him. 

“Why does this always happen,” Jamie asked rhetorically, against the skin of your shoulder as he continued to pepper kisses, “always end up coming back to you.” 

You smile at his words, it was true. The two of you just couldn’t seem to keep your hands off each other when you were together. 

Before you could process what had happened, you were pushed against the table, and Jamie took your thighs, lifting you to sit on the edge of it as he got down to his knees. 

His kisses began at your ankle, and he looked up at you as they got closer and closer. Your calves, your knees and eventually your upper thigh. 

“I’ve missed you.” He confessed as he held your thighs open, one finger pushing your underwear to the side. 

He dragged a finger through your slick folds, earning a sigh from you as he grazed your clit. You looked down to see a smirk plastered on his face. His eyes briefly met yours before he placed a kiss over your clit, the tip of his tongue nudging it as you dug your nails into the underneath of the wooden table you were sitting on. Jamie quickly noticed this, and the hand that was holding your legs open for him guided your hands back to his hair. 

“Shit.” You gasped as you felt a finger gently press into your entrance, his lips now wrapped around your clit, sucking and nipping at it. “M-more…” You managed to whisper. 

“That’s not how we ask for something, is it, darling?” Jamie teased, a devilish glint in his eyes as two of his fingers pressed into you, agonisingly slow. 

“Please,” you whimpered, “I need… I want more, please, Jamie.” 

Jamie chuckled, his thumb now replacing his mouth on your clit as his fingers pumped in and out of you. He stood back up, towering over you before leaning down to kiss you, giving you a taste of yourself as he did so. 

“I’ve missed hearing you beg,” he whispered, “come on, sweetheart, let go for me. I know you're close.” 

He was right. You swore he knew your body better than you did. 

You could feel the knot in your belly tightening, getting ready to snap at any moment. 

“You’re making such a mess, y’know that? My messy girl, can feel you dripping down my hand,” you could tell what he was doing, he was trying to push you to the edge, he knew what effect his words had on you, and he was taking advantage of that, “that’s it, angel. You can do it, cum for me.” 

And that did it. 

Your head was thrown back, your thighs trying to close around him as he continued to work you through your orgasm. The moans falling from your lips were muffled by his as he slipped his tongue into your mouth. 

His fingers slipped out of you and he reached for your thighs, his slick coated fingers leaving your skin sticky as he pressed his body against yours, causing you to wrap your legs around his waist as he carried you towards the bed. 

As your back hit the mattress, he began to undress. You took off your ruined underwear before you reached for your dress, to slip it off, but he called out to stop you. 

“Hey, leave it on. It looks so fucking sexy.” He growled, unbuckling his belt to let his trousers fall to the ground. 

He kneeled on the bed and shuffled his way between your legs, holding them open for him as he leaned down to kiss you once again. 

“Jamie, please.” You whined, lifting your hips to try and get him to do something. 

“Fuck, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to hold back, darling. It’s been a while since I’ve…” He doesn’t finish his sentence as you reach your hand between your bodies, palming his hard cock through his boxers. 

He grabs your wrists, his fingers digging into the skin sure to leave bruises for you to look back on in the days to come. 

“I didn’t tell you that you could touch, now, did I?” His eyes had darkened with need and lust, and the way his face twisted into a devilish smile made a whimper slip from your lips. “So desperate for me, aren’t you baby. I knew all those years ago I had ruined you for any other man, this just proves it, hm?” 

With one hand pinning your arms above your head, the other one comes down to drag his thumb over your bottom lip, before you welcome him into your mouth, gently sucking on the tip of his thumb. 

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath, “keep your hands here, okay? I know you will, you’re my good girl, right?” 

You nod your head and manage to say a muffled ‘yes’ as his thumb presses down on your tongue as he uses his now spare hand to push his boxers down, letting his cock free from its restraints. 

He wastes no time, swiping his fingers over your slick, spreading it over his dick before pumping himself a couple times. His breathing is heavy as he lines himself up with you, your hips squirming as you wait for him to finally push in, but he takes his time teasing you beforehand. When the tip finally slips into you, you both let out a moan and his head falls forwards, buried where your neck meets your shoulder. 

It’s clear that neither of you have had any action lately, as you both need to take a moment before Jamie begins to move. You dig your nails into the pillow as he begins to slowly move his hips. 

His hand that was once over your mouth trails down and rests on your neck, applying a little pressure as your eyes fall shut. You feel how his cock slides into you, nudging spots inside you that made you shiver. He would pull back out until only the tip was left inside, before fucking back into you, getting progressively rougher. 

“You look so pretty like this, baby.” He said before leaning down to capture your lips with his. 

You wrapped your legs around his waist, keeping your hands planted above your head as you melted into the kiss. You took advantage of the use of your legs, if you couldn’t touch him with your hands. 

One of Jamie’s hands slid between your bodies to find your clit again, using his thumb to try and bring you the edge, knowing he wouldn’t last much longer. In the past, you and Jamie went maybe 2 or 3 rounds sometimes in one night. However, it was different tonight. You hadn't seen each other in a long time, let alone had sex. 

His pace began to quicken, his thrusts getting rougher and rougher. He buried his face in your neck once more and you couldn’t help but tangle your fingers into his hair, gently tugging on the blonde locks. 

“Shit,” he gasped, masked by a dark chuckle as he kissed your neck. 

“J-Jamie…” Your mind was too clouded by everything to even think about forming a proper sentence, but Jamie knew you and your body better than you knew yourself, and vice versa. 

You knew he was getting close by the way his cock twitched inside you. Your grasp on his hair tightened as you felt your high getting closer and closer. 

“Inside.” Was the final word you managed to mutter into his ear before you came undone, your legs locking around him, making sure he wouldn’t pull out before you came down from your high. 

As you were beginning to catch your breath, your muscles relaxing as you lay there blissed out, felt him twitch in you once more, cumming inside you with a moan, followed by your name. You rocked your hips as he stilled inside of you, milking his cock of every last drop. 

“Fuck,” he groaned, follow by a chuckle as he smiled lazily down at you, “you don’t understand how much I’ve missed you.”

[allthingsfangirl101]

Millie’s Friend–Keys

Millie's POV

"Why won't this work?!"

"Easy," Keys sighed. "We'll figure it out."

"You built an entire video game," Mouser sighed. "Why can't we program Free City's characters into our new adapted code?"

"It's not that easy," Keys said as he leaned back in his chair. "For some reason, the codes aren't combining correctly."

I chewed on my bottom lip, scanning my eyes over our code. Suddenly, the face of the one person that could help us, popped into my head.

"I think I know someone we can call."

"Who?" Keys asked as he sat forward.

"She was my roommate our senior year at MIT," I explained. "And she is incredible at cross-programming. If anyone can fix this problem, it's her."

                                * * * * *

Reader's POV

I stared at my phone as I got a call from the last person I ever thought I would hear from. The last time I talked to Millie was the day she sold her game to some asshole that she thought was brilliant. And just like I tried to warn her, he ended up screwing them over. I sighed before answering.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Y/N," she said too cheerily.

"What can I do for you, Millie?" I asked as politely as I could. I haven't heard from my roommate in years and she just randomly calls me.

"It's been a while," she chuckled.

"What do you need, Millie?" I asked, less politely this time.

"Look, my friend and I built this video game and it's really taken off," she said, her usual amount of bragging coming through.

"And you called to brag?"

"No," she said quickly. "The thing is, we had to adapt the code for the number of users but with the new code, we can't program any new characters."

"Okay," I sighed.

"I know you're a big programmer for that company out of Seattle," she continued. "I was wondering if you could take a look at our code. Maybe you see something that we've missed. Look, I know it's been a long time since we've seen or talked to each other, but I could really use your help, Y/N."

"I can come by tomorrow on my lunch break," I sighed, giving in.

"Thank you!" She laughed. "I owe you one."

                                * * * * *

I fixed my blazer as I hesitated to knock on Millie's apartment. When I gathered enough courage, I knocked. I tried to hide my surprise when the door opened quickly.

"Y/N!" Millie squealed. I gasped when she pulled me into a tight hug and started rocking us.

"Nice to see you too," I laughed. We pulled out of the hug and Millie wasted no time before grabbing my hand and dragging me into her apartment.

"This is where your company resides?" I asked.

"I know," she chuckled. "We're still trying to find an office. It's been a long and busy process."

"If you moved into an actual office building, it will give you a broader spectrum," I started to ramble. "Office buildings have better and stronger service. Housing and apartment complexes naturally have worse service."

"That's what I keep saying!" Someone shouted from the other room.

"Who's that?"

"I'll introduce you. Guys, where are you?!"

"Trying to keep your apartment from burning down," a different voice said.

"Boys, how many times have I told you not to use anything in the kitchen?" Millie yelled back. She looked over at me and sent me a teasing smile and rolled her eyes.

"Guys, get out here," Millie said. "I want you to meet, Y/N."

She and I laughed when we heard what sounded like things being roughly put down. "Prepare yourself," she whispered.

"Honey," I sighed, "I'm the only female in an entire office building of men. I think I can handle two guys my age."

"You don't know these guys," she laughed. "Well, Keys will be nice. You don't have to worry about him. Now Mouser. . ."

"Keys and Mouser?" I asked. "Do these boys have real names?"

"Sometimes, I forget," she laughed.

Just then two boys walked into the room. The second I saw the first guy, I already knew it was Mouser. He was too busy checking out my skirt length to see what I looked like. The second guy only looked into my eyes. When he smiled, my face burned.

"Y/N, this is Mouser and Keys," Millie introduced. "Guys, this is Y/N."

"Hello, Y/N," Mouser said in a flirtatious tone.

"Don't even think about it," Millie shut down instantly.

"It's nice to meet you," Keys spoke up. "And sorry about him."

"It's okay," I chuckled. "I'm used to it."

"We really appreciate you coming all the way out here to help us," Keys smiled.

"No problem," I shrugged. "Where are your servers?"

"In the other room," Millie said. "Follow me."

As we walked into the other room, I heard Mouser whisper to Keys. "She's cute."

"Leave her alone," Keys sighed. "She doesn't need you panting and drooling over her. She's here to help. Promise me you won't make her uncomfortable."

Something about Keys instantly protecting me made my stomach crazy.

                                * * * * *

An hour later and I was a little closer than Millie and the guys were to fixing their problem.

"Here." I looked over my shoulder to see Keys holding out a mug. "Thought you could use some coffee."

"Thanks," I smiled as I took it.

"How's it going?" Keys asked as he nervously rocked on his heels and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"It's. . . Going," I sighed as I ran my fingers through my hair. "It's going to take a few hours, but at least I'm on the right track."

"That's great. You want any help?"

For the next two hours, Keys and I adjusted their code and slowly fixed the problem of uploading their characters. Turns out there was something in the code of their characters that wasn't linking with the code of their game.

"I think. . . We're just about. . . There!"

"You got it?" Keys asked, scooting closer to me.

"I did."

We let out matching laughs as he skimmed through the code. "Holy. . . you did it."

"What's all the screaming?" Mouser asked.

"Y/N figured it out."

"You did?" Millie asked as she ran over. She looked over Keys' shoulder, slightly leaning over him. I looked away when she grabbed his shoulders.

"That's amazing!" Millie squealed. I laughed as she wrapped me in a big hug. "Thank you so much!"

"Happy to help," I chuckled. I looked over her shoulder and saw Keys smiling at me.

                                * * * * *

"Y/N?"

I turned around to see Keys jogging out of Millie's building toward me.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I was wondering. . ." He said slowly. "Maybe we could get coffee sometime. Or dinner?"

"Keys, are you asking me on a date?"

"I'm trying to, at least," he shrugged, letting out a small laugh. "So?"

"I'm in."

[janeykath318]

Steve’s Christmas Miracle Chapter 5

Steve came to his senses, expecting to feel exhausted from the sleepless night, but he didn’t.

“That was an incredible dream!” he thought, stretching out the kinks in his neck.

Then he noticed the artificial tree Bucky had brought him and which he’d stuffed in a closet, having no intention of using, standing in the corner. Someone had set it up and plugged it in and it was glowing with beautiful colored lights.

It made his bare cabin look friendlier somehow and he smiled at the thought of his mysterious visitors setting it up for him.

As he reached for his phone, he noticed a stack of business cards piled neatly on the coffee table, having somehow escaped the junk drawer he’d shoved them in. They were all for the therapist Bucky recommended and had been trying to get Steve to call for months. Why had he been such a fool? He wondered. Toughing it out was not doing him any good. Flipping over one of the cards, he noticed writing on the back.

Take a freaking hint, Steve! was written in Natasha’s exasperated handwriting.

What she said. Was written below in what he guessed was Darcy’s writing. He carefully tucked the two cards in his pocket. He would make it his top priority after Christmas. In the meantime, he had plans to make and friends to call. Scarfing down a quick breakfast, he dialed up Bucky.

“Hey, punk. Good to hear from you. You okay?”

Bucky asked, sounding very relieved.

“Yeah, I’m okay, Buck. Hey, I’m really sorry about how I’ve been acting lately. Last night….well, let’s just say my eyes were opened. I have a lot of work to do, but I’m gonna quit hiding. It’s not doing any good. Is the invite still open?”

“Of course!” Bucky exclaimed. “Come on down. We’re gonna be here through New Years. I might have some good news when you get here.”

“Oh?” Steve grinned, knowing what he was referring to.

“I can’t say yet, cause people are listening, but I’ll text you later.”

“Good luck,” Steve said warmly. “I mean it, Buck. If this is what I think it is, nobody deserves this more than you two.”

“Aw, thanks, Steve. When do you think you’ll make it in?”

“Looks like tomorrow morning is the earliest I could get here,” Steve told him. “Sorry I was such a jerk about this.”

“Better late than never,” Bucky told him. “And I am in no position to judge you for that. It’s been hell. Should I tell Sam we’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Absolutely! And Buck?”

“Yeah, Punk?

“Merry Christmas.”

Steve listened to Nat King Cole crooning Christmas songs as he went about tidying up and cheering up his cabin. He didn’t have much in the way of decorations, but it was a start.

He drove into the city and spent the rest of the morning visiting the pediatric ward, and meeting a lot of sweet kids, including, much to Steve’s joy, Blake. Steve would never forget the happiness in Blake’s pale face as he was introduced or the way Blake’s dad thanked him profusely afterwards.

“This means the world to him. This was his one big wish and we weren’t sure if we could make it happen,” Jeff told Steve, eyes misty as the visit came to a close. “He’s got quite a fight on his ghands, but the new treatment seems to be working. Thank you.”

“No problem. I’ll be happy to come back again for another pep talk. He’s quite the trooper,” Steve said, smiling at Blake encouragingly.

“That would be amazing, but surely you’ve got too much on your plate already,” Jeff said.

“Actually, I’m retired. So I’ve got lots of free time now,” Steve informed him. “I went off the grid for a while, but it’s time for a new chapter.”

He left the hospital whistling and ran a few more errands of goodwill before getting a quick lunch and heading back to his cabin.

When he pulled in the drive, he was startled to see a familiar figure leaning on the porch railing.

“Darcy?” he called, parking the bike and hurrying to meet her. “How in the world?”

“Merry Christmas, Steve,” she told him, mischief twinkling in her blue eyes. It was then that he noticed the giant red bow stuck to the top of her head.

[harlowsbby]

idk if your taking requests but jack fic idea

he forgets your birthday - i want angst & arguments vibes you know like he made a promise to take the day off and he doesn’t and you don’t wanna make a big deal about it but it hurts

In the city

( I switched it up a bit anon I hope you don’t mind, thank you @mortirolo and @heavyhitterheaux and @softtcurse for the help 💗 )

“You promised me you’d be there Jack, you promised, you promised, you promised but you lied once again!! All you do is lie Jack.”

“I’m sorry I have a job Y/N! I’m sorry I do all of this shit to keep a roof over your head, this is my career I have people, important people and millions of fans that I can’t let down.”

“What about me Jack, all you do is worry about you and your career what me?! Tomorrow is my birthday and you can’t take the day off?!”

Jack sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration he understood your anger towards him but at the same time he needed you to understand his life, you knew what you were signing up for before even dating Jack so he didn’t understand why you were acting like any of this was brand new.

He had to come up with some type of idea to get you to drop this silly argument he was exhausted and wanted to sleep.

“Look baby I’ll take the day off tomorrow I’ll call Neelam in the morning and let her know I can’t make it, I don’t want to argue with you baby not tonight please.”

“You’ll really do that for me?” You smiled softly when Jack smiled and nodded.

“Let’s go to bed baby yeah?” You crawled into bed while Jack turned off all the lights downstairs once he made his way upstairs he changed into a pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt before getting into bed next to you.

The last thing you remembered before falling asleep was Jack rubbing small circles on your back and cooing in your ear.

You following morning you woke up shivering and groaned, patting the side next to you where Jack usually slept you frowned not feeling him next to you.

“Maybe he to get me something for my birthday.” You told yourself before unplugging your phone on the nightstand, you spent a good few minutes thanking everyone who told you happy birthday.

It didn’t feel the same not waking up to Jack on your birthday and having him not telling you happy birthday right away felt off.

Jack 💗

- good morning babe I just woke up, where are you at?

You sent the message and sighed there was no use of sitting around and sulking on your birthday, your friends Arianna and Drea were taking you out for lunch. Later on all three of you would be getting ready at your house before heading over to your birthday dinner that you hoped Jack would be at.

You quickly got dressed before heading outside where Arianna and Rykky were waiting for you.

“The birthday girl! How’s your day going so far?”

You wanted to tell them about Jack and yours argument last night and how he wasn’t there when you woke up this morning but there was no point in being negative especially on your birthday.

“It’s going good so far, I’m so hungry I can’t wait to eat.”

Halfway through the car ride you got a message from Jack, you quickly opened up the message.

Jack 💗

- Sorry baby I was in a meeting but I’m about to come I promise.

You frowned you didn’t even bother to reply you weren’t about to let him ruin your day.

Once the three of you arrived to the restaurant you took your seats and started talking about anything and everything you tried your best to stay focus but your mind kept wondering off to Jack.

“Are you sure you’re okay Y/N? You haven’t even touched your drink and you love some mimosas.” Drea frowned and tried scooting the drink closer to you to try and tempt you but it wasn’t working.

You weren’t going to tell them about Jack but you couldn’t hold in your emotions anymore.

“It’s just Jack last night we got into a fight about him working today and I wake up and he isn’t there I sent him a message asking where he was and he’s at some meeting, I just feel like he’s taking me and this relationship a joke.” You cried out Drew and Arianna coo’d at you.

“I’m sorry baby but I know he’ll definitely be at your birthday dinner right? He wouldn’t be dumb enough to miss that.” Arianna reassured you but you weren’t so sure.

“He hasn’t even told me happy birthday yet I’ll honestly be surprised if he shows up.”

“Well I hate to be the bear of bad news but he’s actually not in a meeting..” Drea told you both.

“Where is he?”

“You might wanna look for yourself.”

The minute you took Drea’s phone you wish you hadn’t, there was Jack on Neelam’s story at some other restaurant celebrating Jayda’s birthday, looking closely you noticed a gift that was next to her that said from Jack to Jayda , you clicked over to the next story and seen Jack had gifted her a cuban link.

“Jack you bought me a cuban link?! Oh my gosh thank you I love you so much!” Jayda’s voice came from the phone, you watched with envy as she jumped up and down while having her arms wrapped around Jack’s neck.

“So he can go and celebrate her birthday with her but not celebrate my birthday, his own girlfriend.” Your voice barley above a whisper you felt like breaking down and crying but what justice would that bring you.

“He’s an asshole and why would he go and celebrate her birthday last time I checked she had a man no? Jack’s with you not her and I can see all of the blogs now.” Drea hated Jayda she always felt that Jayda had this secret motive to take Jack from you.

“Well let’s not jump to conclusions or say and do things we might regret, I’m sure he’ll have an even better and bigger gift for you Y/N.” Arianna gave you hand a light squeeze before paying the bill.

Maybe Arianna was right you didn’t want to jump to conclusions and assume the worse but what were you supposed to do or feel when your boyfriend gifted some girl one of the most expensive gifts known to man.

You arrived back to your house and started getting ready for your birthday dinner, Arianna and Drea tried many times to cheer you up and take your mind off of Jack but it wasn’t working. You’ve been sending him several messages ever since you saw that he was with Jayda and everytime it would say he read the message but he never replied.

Just as you were about to text him again your phone was snatched out of your hands.

“Arianna give me my phone back please. I need to text Jack.”

“Again? You’ve been texting him all day don’t think I haven’t noticed you aren’t texting him. You’re not getting your phone back till your birthday is over.”

“What? You can’t do that.”

“Yes I can and I will. It’s your birthday and if Jack wants to be hangout with some botched barbie of hollywood then let him but today is your special day and you won’t be sitting around and crying about him anymore, now get up so I can do your hair.”

“And you’ll be taking shots you haven’t taken not one shot today and that isn’t the type of birthday behavior we want!” Drea’s voice came from downstairs you shook your head and laughed at the two of them, you were beyond grateful to have two amazing friends like them in your life.

After Arianna finished your hair you quickly put on your birthday outfit and took a few shots with Drea, just enough shots to make you a little tipsy.

“Are you ready to have the best night of your life?” Drea asked and linked both of your arms together as the two of you walked towards the club.

“I’m definitely ready, I want to get fucked up tonight.”

“Trust me you’ll regret ever telling me that.” Drea smirked and you gulped maybe you were going to regret that decision.

Once inside you were immediately pulled over to the bar by Drea, she had you taking shots and drinks back to back like it was nothing.

“How are you feeling!” She yelled and you giggled not really finding what was funny but all you knew was the alcohol was taking over, your legs began to tingle something that always happened when you drank alcohol.

“I’m feeling wonderful!! How are you feeling?” You giggled and fell forward a bit but luckily she caught you.

“I’m feeling wonderful too!”

“Why are we yelling?” Someone said from behind the two of you, looking behind you it was Druski and Urban.

“Druski! Urban! I missed you two so much, what are you guys doing here?” You pulled them both in for a hug which they happily accepted and returned back.

“Why wouldn’t we be here? It’s your birthday after all.” Urban added on.

“Well I just thought the two of you would’ve forgotten because clearly Jack did.” Urban and Druski frowned they were mad when they found out Jack was out celebrating Jayda’s birthday and not yours but according to Jack your birthday can wait.

“Well don’t worry about him I’m sure he’ll show up later maybe or at least we hope he does.” Druski said and Urban nodded his head in agreement.

“Well for now let’s just enjoy the night? I heard Arianna’s fine ass is here point me into the direction where shawty is.” You rolled your eyes but pointed towards the table where Arianna sat.

“Let’s make this night one of the books Y/L.” Urban took your hand and took you to the dance floor, Urban wasn’t the best at dancing but he tried his best to dance with you throughout the dance. Urban and Druski kept true to their words and made sure you had the best night of your life.

Jack didn’t flood your mind once, you laughed watching how Druski tried to flirt with Arianna who kept making gross and gagging noises whenever he did, Urban was flirting up a storm with a few of your friends you’ve known since diapers. The only thing that would’ve made tonight better if Jack was here thinking about Jack honestly made you sober up.

Once the party was over Urban and Druski offered to take you back home, after they dropped off Arianna and Drea it was now your turn.

Checking your phone you frowned seeing Jack still hasn’t answered back any of your texts from earlier but it was clear he read every single one.

“You still haven’t heard from Jack?” Urban asked you from the passenger seat.

“No I haven’t yet.” You replied back and looked out the window. Druski and Urban gave each other knowing looks.

When you arrived back to your shared apartment with Jack you thanked Urban and Druski.

“Do you want us to come up? You know make sure you’re all tucked in and what not.” Urban asked, smiling warmly at him you nodded.

“I’d love that Urban.”

Urban and Druski walked you upstairs towards your apartment you wen to unlock the door but furrowed your eyebrows noticing the door was already unlocked.

“Did you not lock it earlier?”

“I locked it earlier I’m not sure why it’s opened.” You opened the door and looked round the living room confused why was there clothes spread throughout the entire living room.

“Damn Drea and Arianna sure don’t know how to clean up after themselves or what. That shit is a turn off.” Druski said which made Urban smack his chest.

“This isn’t Drea’s or Arianna’s bra, this shit is way too cheap looking.” You told them and that’s when you started making your way up the stairs.

“Maybe we should go back downstairs Y/N and wait for Jack.” Urban tried to reassure you but you weren’t trying to hear any of it. If you felt in your heart what you were about to witness was true you weren’t sure what you were going to do.

Upon opening the door you so badly wished what you saw in front of you was just a terrible nightmare. You stared in amazement as Jack’s lips attached to Jayda’s body, you watched how his hand traveled upward and cupped her face as he depended the kiss.

“Hey Jack..Jayda.” He pulled away from her lips and looked at you with his eyes wide.

“It isn’t what it looks like baby.”

“It isn’t what it looks like? It looks crystal clear to me Jack you’re a cheater and to make matters worse you cheated on me on my own birthday, you never even told me happy birthday.” You told him your voice barley above a whisper.

“Please Y/N let’s talk this out baby, I’ve just been so stressed and overwhelmed.” You cut him off and shook your head at him.

“I just hope you’re happy with your decision, happy birthday to me huh?”

[idkthisisjustforfanfic]

not a (surprise) date

story page | talk to me/join the tag list | the playlist

wc: 4k+ of birthday celebrations

PART 6

Mid-May was hotter than expected. The leaves that canopied New York were in full bloom and the city buzzed to life with the warm weather. The time difference made it hard.

Passing like ships in the night: he was already at work by the time you woke up, you were in meetings when he’d go to sleep. But text messages and scattered FaceTime calls still made your heart flutter with the simple thought that one day, he’d be across a bridge rather than across the Atlantic.

“Hi,” you answered one morning, your hair in a bun and glasses on your face. Much more comfortable with him than you’d been only a few weeks prior.

“Hi, I can’t believe I caught you.”

“I just got up,” you said, pushing a mug under the spout of your Keurig. “Where are you?”

“Lunch, out--just wanted to step out and say hi if you were around.”

“Hi,” you smiled at him.

He held your gaze for a second, “Hi.”

“What do you have going on today?”

“Same stuff, we start on the finale next week.”

“Does anyone die?”

He lowered one brow on the screen of your phone. “I thought you didn’t want spoilers?”

“So someone dies?!”

“No,” he laughed. “No one dies. Yet.”

“Don’t fuck with me.”

“Wish I could.”

“Fuck with me, or fuck me?”

“The latter, truthfully” he nodded.

“Did you call for any other reason than sexual harassment at--” you looked at the clock above the stove-- “7:43 in the morning?”

“Can I not just say good morning to my--”

He cut himself off, caught the slip before it happened. His what? His girlfriend? His friend? His fuck buddy?

There’d been no conversation regarding what you were or what all of this meant since the day on set in his trailer. Not even after you had sex and boarded a plane only 72-hours later.

And now FaceTiming to say hi seemed to be creeping into territory that friend and fuck buddy didn’t quite fit into.

“Good morning,” you saved him the embarrassment and blinked a few times, a smile to let him know you were doing him a favor.

“What do you have going on today?” He switched the topic and you reached for the sugar.

“Meetings this morning, photoshoot in the afternoon. Dinner with a girl tonight who I find completely boring.”

“Who?”

“Her name’s Alexis Ryder? Her boyfriend knows my ex and now whenever she’s in town I have to at least get a drink with her.”

“Why?”

“Her father is also the VP of A&R at my label,” you nodded.

“There it is,” he nodded. “Makes sense. Well, hey--I’ve got something that’s being delivered to you today, like, after 4pm they said.”

“Delivered to me?”

“Yeah, s’no big deal. Just something for tomorrow.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. The day had finally come, a whole 29 years since the day of your birth and he seemed much more excited than you were. Sixteen and a half for a little, that’s fun.

“Ooookay.”

“Ooookay,” he mirrored your tone, sarcastic. “I’ll talk to you later.”

You hung up, both excited and terrified by the implication of his words. A gift? You didn’t just do that for a friend, or a fuck buddy, right?

Mia listened to you recount the story to her when you sat in a makeup chair later that afternoon. No, she promised. You don’t just buy a gift for a fuck buddy.

You didn’t know what it was, though. There were categories, you and Mia decided. Things you get a girlfriend, things you don’t.

Jewelry, flowers, champagne. Girlfriend.

A gift card? A bicycle? A sweatshirt? She threw her head back and laughed, if he gets you a bicycle, it’s done.

Your phone buzzed on your dresser that evening when you clipped an earring into place and dreaded the dinner date ahead of you. The noises of TriBeCa floated in from the open window, music of a summer evening laced the city streets.

Jason (6:21pm): Got a notification that you have a delivery!

Y/N L/N (6:23pm): Okay, I’ll go check!

You clasped your bracelet, looked in the mirror and wondered if there was any way you could get out phony small talk and fake smiles.

Stomach flu, migraine? You padded over to the front door, twisted the knob and looked down to the welcome mat. A tiny pink box, a sticker folded over the edge to keep it closed.

You picked it up and inspected it more closely. No label, no sign of postage.

You were about to shut the door, bump it closed with your hip but movement in the corner of your eye had you dropping the pink box to the floor and clutching a hand to your heart.

“Hi.”

“Holy fucking shit,” you took a giant step back, both your eyes falling to the box that was now upside down on your welcome mat between you.

You looked back up. There he was. A baseball hat on and a gray hoodie as he let out a laugh, arms extended to tug you towards him.

“I’m sorry, hi--I’m sorry,” he kissed your forehead, you blinked a few times and appreciated the way his arms wrapped around your shoulders. “That was a cupcake from the best spot in Brooklyn, and now it’s ruined.”

“What are you doing here?!” You almost yelled, taken back by the surprise but giddy with excitement when he smiled at you.

He bent down to pick up the box. “Ended up having a few days off since we’re a bit ahead of schedule. Olivia’s in town with the kids, too, so--”

You couldn’t contain your smile, reached your hands up to kiss him in greeting before you pulled him inside.

“Does Mia know you’re here? Was she in on this?”

“Of course Mia knows,” he laughed, walking to set the cupcake on the counter. “How else would I have found my way here?”

Right--he’d never asked for your address, a detail you overlooked all day. Didn’t say anything about who was delivering a gift or how he knew where to send it.

“I can’t believe you’re here. When do you leave? You didn’t have to come for my birthday!”

“No, I know, Olivia’s here and I figured it was good to wrap it into one trip.”

You nodded, her name twice in the last thirty seconds deflated the excitement. Maybe he sensed it, a smile when he said: “I wanted to come though, I wanted to see you, celebrate your birthday. I hope showing up without an invite is cool--apparently that’s my thing now.”

“Apparently,” you shot him a smirk when you went to fetch your phone. “I have to text this girl and cancel--which is great cause I would rather get hit by a bike messenger than sit through dinner with her.”

“That’s an oddly specific alternative.”

“This is my apartment, by the way!” You waved your arms around, heartbeat still elevated a bit when you let out a breath.

He was here, no warning. Somewhere in a five mile radius his ex-fiancé and children were having dinner, prepping a bedtime story. But he stood in your living room, not a hallucination and certainly not a fever dream.

“Wait--you don’t have to cancel, I feel bad.”

Your thumbs already hovered over the screen, eyes trailed up to see him standing in the middle of the room. You didn’t believe him. “You feel bad?”

He thought on it for a second. “I don’t.”

You nodded.

“I should feel bad, right? Showing up unannounced, uninvited…”

You sent what you had typed out--stomach bug, so sorry, raincheck--and then took a few steps until you stood right in front of him.

“Am I crazy if I say that I’d rather spend tonight with you than with some obnoxious friend of my ex-boyfriend’s?”

He shook his head, the corner of his mouth quirked up exactly how you liked. “I don’t think so. Am I crazy for using time off from work to fly eight hours to New York to see you?”

“Yes,” you nodded with confidence. “But in a good way.”

“I hope it wasn’t too presumptuous.”

“You’ve always been a little presumptuous.”

“Me?” He pointed at his own chest, you walked over to the kitchen to inspect the damage on the cupcake he’d mentioned.

It was toppled over, chocolate frosting smeared on the side of the box. “On our first date you brought up the age gap. I was just gonna pretend it wasn’t a thing but you wasted no time.”

“Our what?”

You traced a finger through it, licked it off and turned to see him. “Walking back from the pub we met at--you brought it up and I didn’t even know if it was a date.”

He had a smug look on his face, arms crossed over his chest when he looked you up and down.

“What?”

“You just called it a date after a solid, hmm, eight weeks of denying it?”

“Whatever,” you waved him off with a laugh. “You know what I mean.”

“Do I?” He let his head tilt to the side, a few steps towards you until he reached out, fingers fiddling with the front of your shirt.

He smiled now, his eyes held yours for a second until you blurted out:

“Are you seeing other people?”

His face faltered, confusion overtook the flirtatious smile when he hesitated. You could have found a better way to ask, more polite and collected and less unhinged insecure stupid kid. But it had been lingering overhead ever since you got home.

The tabloids continued to poke around, looking for proof of something more than platonic. You did your best to ignore the gnawing rumors that sprinkled the newsstands on your block: romance or rebound?

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that.”

“No, no,” he shook his head. “It’s okay—I, uh, yeah, we should have that conversation.”

You stood in front of him, his fingers still clutched the fabric in front of your tummy when you let out a nervous exhale.

“That sounds like a yes.”

It was fine—right? It didn’t matter if he was seeing other people or playing the field. After all, he’d been in a relationship for years. Had children and lived with her, a level of commitment that you’d yet to experience. Maybe he needed to let loose, maybe you were just a rebound.

His eyebrows dipped down, almost like your words hurt. “No, I’m not. I haven’t—I wasn’t really looking for anything when I met you.”

“Oh,” you said it quickly, eyes on the ground when he finally took a step back.

“I don’t mean that this isn’t—”

“Right—”

“Just that I didn’t expect—”

“Yeah, it’s okay—“ you turned back to the kitchen, hands on the counter when you looked down at the disheveled cupcake. In a matter of minutes what went from an exciting surprise was now as broken as the baked good in front of you.

“No, Y/N, will you just listen to what I’m saying?”

You turned around, watched him for a second as he tried to gather words.

“I mean that I wasn’t expecting this to be…what it is.”

Silence.

“I’m not seeing anyone but you. I’m not dating anyone but you.”

“It’s okay if you are,” you shrugged a little.

“Well, thanks,” he laughed. “But I’m good with just one girlfriend.”

You fought the smile, felt your cheeks flush when he returned the excited look on your face.

“Unless you have other boyfriends, then we should definitely talk.”

“I didn’t even know I had one.”

“That’s fair, seeing as despite me being a whole sixteen and a half years older than you it took me this long to man up and just, y’know, say it.”

“Yeah, took you a while.”

He came up to you, kissed you so hard the smile only grew. You decided to order in, no point in pleasing the paparazzi. You draped your legs over his on the couch and sipped Champagne that a friend of a friend had sent for your birthday.

He slept in your bed that night and when you woke up, he had a cup of coffee waiting, happy birthday balloons from a convenience store down the street.

Once you sat beside him on the couch, he took a sip from his own mug. “So what are the big birthday plans?”

You pulled your knees up to your chest. “Well, Blake and Ryan are actually having some friends over, part birthday gathering for me, part Friday night dinner party since we haven’t done something in a while.”

“Blake and Ryan as in Lively and Reynolds?”

You nodded. You’d known for a while that you had mutual friends--but you’d both yet to be in New York long enough to end up at the same party or dinner or event.

“I was thinking you could come tonight--if you wanted to, if you’re around. I mean, I know you’re friends with them too so maybe we can stage a casual meeting and act like we’ve never met.” You wiggled your eyebrows suggestively at him, hoping to gain a laugh.

“I’m supposed to have Otis and Daisy,” he met your gaze, guilt on his face when he realized he hadn’t communicated this.

“Oh,” you said quickly, tongue tracing the inside of your cheek when you paused. Right, of course. Olivia’s in town with the kids.

Were you allowed to be mad? Were you the asshole if you were annoyed he was blowing you off for his children? “Yeah, that’s fine--sorry, I thought since today was my birthday--”

You cut yourself off. It was already coming out wrong. He didn’t owe you anything.

“No--I know, I just don’t think I can ask Liv to change her plans or move stuff around. But I’m here now, I’m around this morning.”

The way her name rolled off his lips with ease made you more upset. Irrationally? Maybe.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay,” you shrugged your shoulders and stood to head for the kitchen. “I get it.”

“You don’t seem like you get it.”

“What is there not to get?” You turned around and looked at him, hands on your hips now. “You have children. I get it. I just thought you’d be around tonight.”

“Well, is there another night when they’re free? We could all have dinner soon.”

“I don’t know,” you busied yourself in the fridge.

He came over, watched you for a second before he said: “Hey--I’m sorry. I was so excited to see you yesterday that I just forgot to tell you I made plans to see them tonight.”

You didn’t reply, kept your eyes on the bagel you’d salvaged from the bottom drawer and cursed yourself for being so petty.

He lasted twelve seconds before he scratched at the back of his neck. You wondered what types of thoughts he chewed on in the deafening silence.

Was this your first fight?

“Why are you so upset?”

Now it was.

“Because I wanted you to meet my friends!”

He was quiet for a second, like your confession sat heavy in the room when you plugged in the appliance.

“Would they even want to meet me?”

“Maddy and Ada have been up my ass about it since I told them we were hanging out.”

He smirked a little. “I’ll meet them. Maybe not tonight, but I will.”

You softened, his words implied there was a future, more nights to spend with friends, more time in New York together. You looked up at him for a minute, reassured by the close-lipped smile on his face and the way he pulled you into his chest.

“Okay.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah what?”

“Yeah I can meet your friends one day?”

“Yeah,” you giggled, inhaling the scent of his sweatshirt: cologne and...airport?

Your phone buzzed to life, a FaceTime call from your dad.

“I’m gonna take this in the other room, unless you want to meet him right now,” you teased.

“You said he liked Horrible Bosses?”

“Didn’t stop talking about it for weeks.”

You rolled your eyes at him playfully, back-stepping to pick it up off the counter and before heading for your bedroom. He tugged at your waist when you walked past him, kissed you on the lips before he said sarcastically: “Then he definitely won’t mind knowing you’re sleeping with someone almost his age.”

**

Mia thrived on the nights when she got paid to have fun. Sipping cocktails in Blake and Ryan’s swanky penthouse and wearing a Versace dress you’d been gifted three years back brought out the best in her.

You gave Blake a squeeze in greeting, three months since you’d last seen your friend.

“Little miss London,” she pulled you close. “How was your adventure across the pond?”

“Good,” you admitted, waved to another friend across the room. “Got a lot done, but I’m glad to be back.”

“Are you? Even though you had to leave someone behind?”

“Alright, relax,” you lowered your voice. “We’re being quiet about it.”

You’d told her once in passing, a FaceTime call back in April when she asked how you were holding up.

Her eyebrows shot up, “there’s a we now?”

Ryan shouted your name from across the room, wove his way through people to come and greet you.

“Okay, do not tell him if he doesn’t know.”

“Doesn’t know?” She asked, her eyebrows arched. “We have internet access.”

Okay, so it was definitely floating around and most people were speculating that there was something going on between you.

“Happy birthday!” Ryan opened his arms, Blake let go of your shoulder so you could hug her husband in greeting.

“Why thank you!”

“Are you trying to get intel about Y/N and our," he lowered his voice before continuing, "favorite soccer coach?”

“I can leave my own birthday party, you know,” you threw a thumb over your shoulder and gestured to the door, narrowed eyes to threaten them both.

“Please,” he made a face at you. “I know we said this party is for you but it was mostly for us so we can get details about the greatest set up of all time.”

Blake whacked him in the stomach quickly, you felt your forehead wrinkle in confusion.

“Set up?”

An awkward beat when Ryan's eyes went wide. “That’s the doorbell,” he said, a hand to his ear.

“It didn’t ring,” you called him out.

“Yes it did,” he nodded. “I heard it--did you hear it Blake?”

“Go,” she pointed to the door, smiled when you brought your eyes back to her, already pleading for you to hear her out.

Mia was beside you now, a drink in hand when she rejoined the conversation.

“They FaceTimed at some point in, like, March, okay? I mentioned you were there, he seemed intrigued.” She shrugged casually, watching both you and Mia for a reaction.

You weren’t mad, just surprised. Arms folded over your chest when Mia asked:

“Wait, so--you guys are the reason he asked her out?”

Blake clasped her hands and held them beneath her chin, a guilty look on her face. “I mean--we planted the seed, maybe.”

“But you didn’t give him my number?”

“I wasn’t going to make it that easy for him,” she laughed.

“So you don’t think it’s weird that he’s so much older?”

“Love knows no age,” she reassured.

“No one said it’s love,” you rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, well, it’s at least lust,” Mia laughed.

Blake waved you off and got you a glass of champagne. She kept it filled all night and Mia was always close behind as you mingled with other friends you hadn’t seen over the last 12 weeks. Eventually, Maddy and Ada showed up and Blake revealed the cake they got in your honor.

They were just about to sing, lights dimmed and a pointy cardboard hat strapped to your head when you saw Ryan disappear again for the front door.

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you!

He opened it, you watched over Mia’s shoulder and saw his eyes meet yours from across the room. A small smile before he offered Ryan a hug, they hung back until you were forced to refocus.

Happy birthday dear Y/N, happy birthday to you!

You leaned forward and blew out the candles, too distracted to make a wish as they all clapped and Mia snapped a photo.

He showed up.

Late, right in the middle of the night’s climax, but there he was, across the room with a stupid smirk on his face as caterers sprung into action. Slices of cake on plates with tiny forks, another drink in your hand before you could even dip away to inquire: what are you doing here?

Mia made eye contact with you, a quirk of her brow to acknowledge the party’s newest guest. You shrugged in response, but it wasn’t going to be that easy.

“Okay,” Maddy finally tugged you aside once the cake excitement had died down. “Care to explain what’s going on?”

“I have no clue,” you answered honestly. “He said he wasn’t coming, he didn’t even text me.”

Mia and Ada had gathered around, sips of champagne as you all took turns stealing glances in his direction. Still by the foyer, a button down and the same pair of Nikes he wore on your first date.

He peered over, a quick smile when he caught you all watching from across the room and everyone’s head snapped back towards you.

Your pulse jumped through the roof and you smoothed out your dress. “Subtle, guys.”

“Oh come on,” Ada laughed. “He knows he’s causing a scene.”

“Let’s just play it cool, okay?”

“Play what cool?” Blake appeared behind Mia, mouth half-full with a bite of cake when she followed Maddy’s line of sight. Her eyes pulled back to yours quickly, “ohhhhh,” she nodded, a suggestive smile. “That’s exciting.”

“Are you behind this, too?”

“No!” her shoulder rose to her ears in innocence. “I had no idea he was even in town!”

Right, you hadn’t exactly broadcasted that part of the story yet: he flew all the way here for my birthday weekend and we had sex for the second time last night!

“Okay he keeps looking over here,” Maddy lowered her voice and watched you closely, a smile on her face to mask the conversation. “The flirty eye contact is painfully obvious.”

“You should see the two of them together,” Mia patted Maddy on the wrist. “It’s insane--they’re basically eye fucking the entire time.”

“Oh shut up,” you waved her off.

“I believe it,” Ada eyed you before she took a sip of her drink. “You have some weird aura with men--older guys have always been into you.”

“I think that’s what happens when you shake your ass on stage,” Blake teased.

“You’re all horrible people,” you nodded confidently, sipping your own glass.

He was waiting you out. He was still with Ryan, a few other friends beside them as he greeted other people you didn’t know he knew.

But there was no way you were going to be the one to break. You’d stand here and eat cake, drink champagne, pretend that you weren’t keenly aware of his presence all night if you had to.

Distraction when Maddy got a text from her most recent hook-up. Something else for you to all giggle about when she read it aloud, still catching up on the events of the New York spring you’d been absent for.

A group reply was crafted, she swiped through his bumble profile for approval and you continued to make the rounds: thank you so much for coming, how have you been?

By midnight there was music, Ryan’s laugh carried down the hall when you dried your hands on a hand towel in the bathroom. You tugged the door open to find Jason on the other side, eyebrows lifted in greeting, a Manhattan he pushed towards you.

You smiled. “For me?”

“For you,” he nodded.

You took it, brought the skewer up to your mouth and pulled one of the cherries off with your teeth.

He watched, eyes on your lips when you let out a giggle.

“I thought you had children to spend the evening with?”

“Yeah, well, turns out kids go to sleep eventually,” he shrugged. “And they have a nanny, so.”

“You didn’t have to come.”

“If I didn’t come I wouldn’t have the mental image of you eating that cherry to last me the next few weeks in London.”

“Hmm,” you nodded. “Just here to get off.”

He let out a quick laugh, regained composure when he put a hand in his pocket. “That and to stir the pot with your friends, you know, get ‘em all riled up. The one in the light blue dress keeps looking at me.”

“Maddy,” you nodded, peering over his shoulder to get a glimpse of the party.

“How much do they know?”

One shoulder shrug, “they know enough that they’d be suspicious if they see us walking out of the bathroom together.”

“Got it--here, come here then,” he stepped into the bathroom, tugged you in before he closed the door. He pressed his lips against yours once it was shut, a hand along your jaw and your back against the wall.

Your hands tugged at the side of his shirt, pulling his body close to yours before, eventually, he pulled away.

You looked up at him, enough of a sad look in your eyes for him to let out an apologetic laugh. “Oh come on, we both know I’m sleeping at your place after that."

"We can't leave the party together," you challenged.

"Well then how about you leave the bathroom and I'll wait a minute to not look like we're up to something. And in an hour or so we'll do the same thing. And I'll meet you at your place."

You offered playful smirk, a single nod before you dipped out and back down the hall.

story page | talk to me/join the tag list | the playlist

[saturnsummer]

sweet love

They say drunk words are your sober thoughts. Joon Hwi clearly had too many thoughts.

prompted by an anon from this question here! thanks anon!!

notes: hello! back with another fic, this time when joonhwi gets too drunk and spills more than he expects. stay till the end though, i added a little bonus as usual. editing, grammar and other mistakes will be taken responsible by me! thank you all for your love and support as always! i’ll see you for more next time!

original prompt: I love your fic 🥰 this is so far from canon but a drunk joonhwi being clingy towards sol a is one of my dream scenarios 😚 or the squad catching solhwi being clingy with each other because they were hiding their relationship

words: 3414 words

Joon Hwi was beyond excited everyday when he woke up for school. No, he wasn't excited to get the top grade, neither was he excited to get his essays and reports done. Though he loves the law, he’s sane enough to not love it that much.

Of course, he’s just excited about meeting his girlfriend, Kang Sol.

He never knew how they got together. It was a natural thing, after all. After the whole fiasco with Assemblyman Ko, their relationship suddenly felt a lot closer. They were close to begin with, with their daily studying and lunches and dinners. But something was different after the middle of their second year.

It started out as dinners every night, with or without the study group. Then Sol would be in study group sessions wearing his sweater or hoodies. When Yeseul or Yebeom teased, Sol would always argue to say that it was cold in their copy room and Joon Hwi was just being nice. Joon Hwi would just pretend that ‘sharing sweaters were normal’.

Then one day, as Joon Hwi sent Sol back home to take care of Byeol, they sat side by side in silence. Sol was desperately in need of catching up on her sleep, so the forty minute bus ride served as a quick nap for her. She turned her head to lean on Joon Hwi’s shoulder, resting her head there for her nap. To make things more comfortable, he placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

When they were nearing their stop, Joon Hwi instinctively shook a sleepy Sol up and held her hand as he dragged her out so she wouldn’t miss the stop. Sol doesn’t let go, and neither does Joon Hwi. Only when they reach the start of the alley do they let go of their hands. (Sol insists it’s because she doesn’t want Byeol to know. Joon Hwi thinks it’s because she’s shy.)

When Joon Hwi is at her front door with Sol, they shyly look at each other, the feelings mutual and conveyed with just their eyes. Of course, they are soulmates. They don't need the words to deliver their entire hearts or feelings.

It was always made known from the start to Joon Hwi that Sol was special to him. He has never met someone so persistent, so passionate and so damm beautiful. He had a couple of flings, being the popular smart boy in school, but none of the girls made his heart beat the same way Sol did. None of them made his world stop.

It has been a year since. And things weren’t easy when you tried to hide it. Sol, a student on a scholarship, had better luck being chosen to attend this school than the number of times the couple almost got caught.

In school, they acted normally as classmates and friends. Their study group sensed something different, but they would just deny and pretend. They put on a pretty good act, if they were to say so themselves, having Bokgi convinced that they needed to find Sol a blind date. (Joon Hwi would have spat his water at him like how Professor Yang did at Prosecutor Jin, but he held it in. Five months of hiding couldn’t be wasted now.)

They wanted to tell their friends, they really did. But they wanted to do it after their bar exams. After the weight of the bar has been lifted off will they share their good news. But while hiding a relationship is hard, making time for one was harder. (Arguably, Joon Hwi finds this harder than any exam he took.)

They absolutely found every minute they could to be together. Every hidden staircase was a spot they tried to spend a few minutes to themselves, but even that was difficult. Joon Hwi would remember how Sol would lead him to a hidden staircase far from their hideout, so as to not get walked in by either the professors or their friends. Even in the midst of Joon Hwi pressing Sol against the wall, as they devoured each other’s lips after a whole day of being unable to kiss, they would be interrupted by the sudden doors of the staircase upstairs opening, causing them to fly apart and run out.

The gossip the school carried was insane, and the last thing they wanted was gossip to reach their friends.

They could spend longer moments in the study room in the middle of the nights where they would be alone, as they worked on their cases and work. Occasionally, they shared bunggeoppangs and hotteoks, where they had long kisses tasting of sweet red bean and honey. But too many times Sol found herself shifting from her seat next to Joon Hwi to climbing on top of his lap in a make-out session, as Joon Hwi reached up to remove the highlighter holding her hair. Just as they wanted more, a sudden noise would bring them to attention and frantically, Sol would fall back onto her chair, both of their faces flushed red.

It was just four more months till the graduation ceremony came.

Till the world knows Sol was Joon Hwi’s.

-----

The bar exam went smoothly, as everyone received their results of passing. As a celebration, the boys decided to drink and have a meal apart from their usual delivery. No, it was time for the real deal of barbecues, meat and stews. They decided to even give a call to Seungjae, who graciously accepted their offer despite being so busy with his new son in his life. The study group has met his kid a couple of times, and even babysat a few hours together.

The boys met at a relatively near barbecue place in the heart of Dongdaemun, a location that the boys could easily return back to the dorms and not too far away. They were at an all-you-could-eat place, suitable for their budget so that they didn’t burn a hole in their pockets. Seungjae offered to treat his dongsaengs. After all, passing the bar was no easy feat. But they declined. His presence with them was enough of a gift from him to them.

But what was a dinner without the star, soju?

Joon Hwi prided himself on holding his liquor well. He could easily have a bottle without feeling the buzz. He could have a second without difficulty as well. Surely, he won’t be drunk, right?

Oh, but how wrong he was.

The bottles of soju and beers kept coming, never ending, as BokGi and Yebeom pushed shot after shot to him and themselves. They were surely prepared to get hammered tomorrow and show up to their 10am lecture spinning. Seungjae, having driven, only watched and smiled as he looked at his dongsaengs drink, sipping on his cola.

“Hyung, you sure you don’t have anything on with Sol-A noona? You know, we catch you with her all the time.” Bokgi asks, his face slightly flushed and words a little slurred. Yebeom nods his head, nodding his head in agreement. Joon Hwi only lets himself smile, not saying anything as he shoots back an additional shot of soju.

“Wah, hyung! So you admit it?” Yebeom says, setting down his chopsticks. Jiho stops chewing on his ssam, and looks next to him at Joon Hwi, who just shrugs, a mysterious smile on his face. Seungjae only places more meat on Joon Hwi’s plate.

With a short glance, Yebeom, Jiho and Bokgi’s eyes met. It was long enough for them to get what they were trying to say, but yet short enough for Joon Hwi to not notice the silence.

They weren’t blind to Joon Hwi’s actions. They noticed how Joon Hwi would look at Sol when she’s practicing for a mock trial, and his gentle voice when he would point out things she missed. Jiho, for one, noticed how Joon Hwi would return to the dorm later or look at his phone, smiling like an idiot. When asked, Joon Hwi would either use the excuse that he went out to the city or he was looking at cat videos, which bore Jiho.

But tonight, they were not leaving this place until he spilled his secret.

“Excuse me! Can we get three more portions of samgyeopsal, one more moksal, one dwangjang jjigae, and three more bottles of soju please?” Bokgi politely shouted to the store helper, who readily nodded.

“One more rice, please!” Yebeom added.

And so, with every portion of food, they shot back shot after shot as they feasted on their fresh juicy grilled pork and stew. They were glad that Joon Hwi was slowly slurring his words, because they themselves were barely hanging on.

“Hyung, you can be honest, you know. We won’t say anything about your private life with noona.” Yebeom says, fighting off the buzz and taking a big gulp of water. Joon Hwi, now face flushed bright red, only let out another smile as he laid back on his chair.

“Ah, Sol...” He murmured out loud.

“You know, she’s really touchy when she’s drunk? She likes to cling on to people when she’s drunk. When she’s angry, she pushes people away instead.” The words come tumbling out of his mouth before he can stop himself. No, this wasn’t Joon Hwi. This was drunk Joon Hwi. The other three immediately perked up hearing this.

“A-Ah, really? How do you know that?” Yebeom prompted, determined to draw out more information.

“Remember the time we were late to Dean Oh’s lecture? We drank that night with Yeseul and Bokgi. She couldn’t stop clinging onto my hoodie after both of them went back. And the other time when she pushed me away after her first year results were out.” Joon Hwi says, the stupid smile still on his face.

“How cute.” He quietly says, eyes closed.

There wasn't a need to know further that their hyung, Han Joon Hwi, had feelings for Kang Sol, the feisty noona.

“Hyung, then why not date her?” Bokgi says, the news keeping him at the end of his seat. Jiho merely sits, ears wide open and ready for any information.

“Date?” Joon Hwi says and lets out a light unmistakable giggle. Oh, he really was drunk now.

“We already are.”

The trio exchange knowing eyes, knowing how their objectives for the night have been accomplished. Seungjae, from the end of the table, merely shakes his head with a smile.

“Hyung, did you know?” Jiho asks. Seungjae nodded.

“They told me. After all, I am no longer a student.” This earned groans from the trio, calling it unfair.

“I miss Sol...” Joon Hwi murmurs, as his drunken state reaches for another shot of soju. Instinctively, Jiho reaches it first and shoves a glass of water in his hand instead. If anything, he was sleeping with this man in the same room. And he was not having his drunken state continue further. After all, they completed their mission for the night.

All that mattered was remembering it the next day.

-----

Sol was in the midst of folding her clothes before her phone rang, distracting her from her music that she had on with her ear pieces. Irritated, she picked up her phone, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Sol-A? It’s oppa.”

“Seungjae-oppa? Why are you calling so late? Is anything the matter?” She asks, alerted by the sudden call. It was almost midnight, and it was rare for Seungjae to call.

“Ah, no. Nothing is wrong. I’m just at the lobby of the school at the Lady Justice statue with a very drunk Joon Hwi and the rest of the boys. I can’t bring them up myself, especially since I can’t enter the dorms anymore.” Seungjae explains. In the back, Sol can hear a noisy Bokgi and Jiho telling him to shut up.

“Give me five minutes.” She says and hangs up. The urgency in Sol’s voice drew the attention of Sol B, who was ready to get to bed. Sol B only looks at Sol for a moment and Sol just gives a sympathetic smile.

“Could... Could you come with me?” Sol asks nervously. Sol B looks at Sol for a moment before she throws a hoodie on and throws another hoodie to Sol. The last thing they needed was them to be recognised. Seungjae was where he said he would be, with indeed, four grown men, sprawled on the couches. Bokgi, Yebeom and Jiho were at least conscious enough to greet both Sols, but Joon Hwi just had his eyes shut, murmuring incorrigible things.

“Sorry you had to deal with them, oppa. They really owe you a big apology.” Sol apologises for the sake of her boyfriend, and his friends. Seungjae only shakes his head.

“They should enjoy this before they step into the workforce and can’t experience it anymore.” He gives a smile. “Joon Hwi got a little carried away. He might have spilled your relationship.” Sol B was not standing far as she forced Bokgi and the rest upright, but she could clearly hear it.

“I’ll settle it. You should go home now, don’t keep Juyoung-unnie waiting. I’ll get them to their rooms.” She said before making her quick goodbye to Seungjae.

Together, both Sols pushed Bokgi and Yebeom up to their room, half guiding and half carrying the heavy boys to their door. When they were back downstairs, Sol B instinctively grabbed Jiho by his arm and pulled him up.

“Sol B, about what-” Sol was cut off by her roommate.

“I know. Don’t tell anyone yet. But, you know you suck at hiding and lying, don't you?” She says, her head turned back, before turning back to help Jiho back to his room. Sol does all she can to suppress her smile. Even though her roommate is harsh, she could feel the love. Turning around, she faces her drunk boyfriend.

“Joon. Joon Hwi.” Sol shakes gently. Joon Hwi’s lips curl up slightly, as his arms reach up to wrap them around the familiar body he missed. Sol was clingy when she was drunk, but it was the pot calling the kettle black for Joon Hwi. If possible, he was even clingier.

“You need to go up to your room.” She says as she fights away his loose grip and half supports his drunk body to his room.

“I missed you, Sol...” He murmurs, a face turning into a pout. “You know I kept telling them how good a girlfriend you are? How you always got me coffees and made extra ramyeons.”

“And you also told them we are dating?”

“Of course! I want the whole world to know I love you!” Joon Hwi says a little loudly, and she clamps his mouth shut. Oh, he was definitely more than drunk. Joon Hwi’s arms clung onto her waist as she reached his door.

“Go. You can face the mess you made in the morning.” She says. Joon Hwi clings onto her, giving her a sad pout.

“No more goodnight kisses?” He asked, a voice like a child. His eyes were big and round, his mouth downturned slightly like a pout.

Sol couldn’t deny him one, especially when he looked so adorable. Looking around, she made sure the coast was clear before she reached up to let her lips meet his soft ones. He tasted like lingering alcohol and she could taste it, but she couldn’t help but want more of his intoxicating lips on hers. But not today.

Pulling away, he let out a slight whine. But Sol gave him a quick peck.

“You’ll get more, when you get up.” And Sol pushes him into the room, leaving back to her own dorm, knowing that she’ll be faced with a big headache the next morning.

-----

When Joon Hwi is up the next morning, he’s greeted with a Jiho who rubs his eyes and holds his head in his hand. Joon Hwi isn’t sure if he’s spinning or the room is. Or if it is spinning in the first place. Jiho notices he’s up and grunts a good morning, before getting up to get ready.

The memories of last night come back to Joon Hwi in waves as the pieces start slowly fixing themselves together throughout the morning. By the time he’s at his first lecture, his memories have more or less come back.

He’s certain that Sol would be mad. He makes a mental note to send Seungjae an apology and thank you message. Then, he starts making plans to bribe the trio. He knows about Yebeom’s love for candy, so he starts with that. He just needs to think of what brand of sneakers to get for Bokgi. Heck, would bribes even work against them?

But throughout the morning, the boys do nothing to mention anything about last night. They chat about their hangover, how Seungjae is doing well with his new job and the amount of food they ate. No one mentions anything about Joon Hwi, or his words.

Joon Hwi counts himself safe. They must have forgotten, he thinks. He figures it was the best they did. It definitely would save him an earful from Sol and a large headache. During lunch, as they finished their simple meal at the cafeteria of soup, rice and bulgogi, Bokgi is about to clear his tray before he turns to Joon Hwi.

“Oh, hyung.”

“Hm?”

“We remember everything. From the start, to the end.” He says, a teasing grin on his face as he quickly scurries away, not wanting to die before he graduates. Joon Hwi rolls his eyes back and groans.

Well, shit.

-----

bonus:

“Sol B, did you know our roommates are dating?” Jiho asks, his voice slightly slurred as Sol B drags him up the stairs. She gives a nod. Sol B was no idiot to fall for her roommate’s excuses, when her face gave it all away. It was fascinating how the others haven’t noticed. 

“It would be an insult to our careers if we didn't notice the way they looked at their phones.” She sarcastically says. Jiho manages to scoff. Sol B is about to tap Jiho’s key card of their door, but his hand stops hers, as she feels his body right behind his. 

“Well, they haven’t found out about us yet.” Jiho says softly to her, his face nuzzled into her neck, lips brushing her neck as he slowly moves his lips up to her jaw. Sol brings a gentle hand to his cheek, before turning around to face Jiho.

“We’re better actors.” She whispers so soft. Jiho can't tell if it’s the alcohol or him, but all he knows is that Sol B looks so damm perfect with her doe-like eyes, soft pink lips and the way she teases him drives him insane. He wants her, and he wants her now. 

He crashes his lips on hers, wanting to so desperately taste her. It’s been a long day, and he’s never felt so in need. Sol B tastes the lingering alcohol on his lips, but she couldn’t care. She needs him the same way he wants her. Her hands reach up to grab his hair as Jiho’s hands slip under her hoodie, feeling the smooth skin of her waist against his fingers. They know that they are in the middle of the hallway, but, god, it felt so good.

“God, I missed this.” Jiho mumbled, almost growling, against her lips, earning a slight smirk from the younger girl that he could feel. He sucks on her lower lip, earning a soft gasp from the girl as she only kisses him harder. Biting lovingly on her swollen lips, he shifts his attention to her jaw, leaving butterfly kisses and earning a sigh of pleasure from her. 

But it was short lived, as she pulled away. They knew they had to stop, before their secret was revealed, too. Jiho wishes he could bring her into the dorm and continue this session with her. Sol B looks at him lovingly, biting her lip in an attempt to tease. 

“We’ll continue this tomorrow.” Sol B says, giving him another loving kiss as she leaves for her room and Jiho returns to his, buzzed from the alcohol and the adrenaline rush from his make out session. He inwardly groans, hating how his girlfriend teases him, but also smirks, knowing how to get back at her the next day.

Let’s hope he remembers this.

[fics-n-stuff]

Home - Pt 2

For @glowstick-lesbian, request here

Pairing: Kaz Brekker x Reader

Summary: After Y/N finally gets out hiding, it's time to sit down with Kaz and talk through whatever it is that's going on between them.

Word Count: 5.1k

Warnings: Brief talk of Jordie and Kaz's trauma and touch aversion

A/N: Wow this ended up being longer than I intended! I'm so sorry it's taken so long, I was focused on The Bastard's Shadow and Affluenza pts1 + 2, and then I started picking up more shifts at work and got writers block at the same time. I really hope you like how it turned out!! ❤❤

Pt1 here

After the very enlightening visit from Kaz, the days seemed to drag on even slower than before. The next two months went by in a crawl, and no matter how much you buried yourself in work you couldn’t distract from the longing you felt to get out of your apartment.

When your messenger came to deliver the news that your pursuers were willing to come to a truce you had been so happy that you’d gone straight to pour yourself a glass of whisky to celebrate. From then, you counted down the days until the meeting that you set up, the result of which should mean that you were free to roam the city again.

Inej had shown you how to get out of the window and onto the roof months ago. It was your escape route in case of an emergency, but you had used it every now and then just to sit on the roof and enjoy a taste of the outside world. That night, you had climbed out with intention and dressed in your finest coat.

You travelled over the rooftops towards the Government district, where your meeting had been arranged to take place near the Stadhall. The presence of the stadwatch would serve to protect you in case the deal went south.

You had been jittery with a mix of anxiety and excitement when you descended to street level and wended your way through the streets to find three men waiting for you at the Stadhall, all of them tall, broad and commanding. Barrel businessmen that you had crossed one too many times, and no doubt they had been angered that forcing you into hiding hadn’t put a stop to your business.

You were too smart to have not found a way around it; you had to be to run the business that you did. You owned three boarding houses and two bars in the Barrel and two ships that brought in imports from Ravka and Novyi Zem, a squaller as a permanent fixture on the crew of each to whom you paid a fair salary. You’d had Kaz put them under the protection of the Dregs to keep them safe from slavers. On top of all of that, you used your contacts in Ravka, Novyi Zem and other parts of Kerch to help get kids out of the Barrel and into honest work elsewhere. You might operate from the criminal underbelly of Ketterdam, but you made a mostly honest living.

The meeting took longer than you had anticipated. The three men were eager to negotiate territories that you couldn’t conduct business in and items that they didn’t want you to import because it was cutting into their own business. You held firm, you knew what was fair and you would be damned if you let anyone bully you into submission.

In the end, you essentially just agreed not to get in their way, which was easy enough to do. You wouldn’t actively compete with them in the sale of imported goods, and you wouldn’t try to convince any of the lads that they used as runners and grunts to get out of the Barrel. As long as you kept your distance from them you’d be fine, since they were clearly tired of chasing after you.

“Alright then, the deal is the deal.” You said, holding out your hand. All three shook hands with you in turn, echoing the phrase as was customary. When the man in the middle – clearly the leader and the last to shake with you – took your hand, you tightened your grip and leaned forward. “If you try to cheat me after this deal, you will have Dirtyhands to answer to.” You said lowly. He tried not to show his reaction but the fear in his eyes betrayed him, and you released his hand. It wasn’t often that you involved Kaz and his reputation in your affairs, but sometimes it paid to be friends with the most ruthless man in Ketterdam.

You left the meeting with your head held high and took a gondel back to the Barrel. You were approached by a few people who stayed in one of your boarding houses or drank in one of your bars on your walk to the Crow Club, telling you that they had been curious or worried about having not seen you around for so long. You didn’t engage in any conversation beyond polite acknowledgment, too eager to get to the Crow Club.

Inej was the only one that knew that you were getting out tonight. You had told her when she had come to deliver your food for the week and she had promised to try and keep everyone corralled at the Crow Club so that you could make a big entrance, but the later it got the less likely it was that she could keep them all there without raising suspicion.

You practically ran down the last street towards the Crow Club, bursting through the open door and searching the crowd for your friends. Jesper caught sight of you at the same moment that you spotted them all at the bar, and you saw his jaw drop in shock. A huge grin spread on your face as he set his drink down, his sudden change in demeanor getting the attention of the rest of the group and causing them to turn to follow his gaze.

“Y/N?” Jesper called, prompting you into as much of a sprint as you could manage across the crowded floor of the gambling hall. You vaulted yourself into him, wrapping your arms tightly around his lanky frame. “You’re back! How?” He exclaimed, and you laughed as you felt him hug you back and sweep you off of your feet.

“I had a meeting to call a truce. As of tonight I am a free person!”

“We missed you so much!” Nina grinned, prying Jesper’s arms off of you so that she could pull into a hug herself. “Why didn’t you tell us that you were finally coming out of hiding?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise.” You grinned, pulling away so that you could move to hug Wylan next. “I missed you guys so much too, you have no idea.” You caught sight of Kaz over Wylan’s shoulder, his eyes wide as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing. You pointed your smile at him and his lips twitched upwards before he cooled his expression and gave you a simple nod.

Your reunion was spirited to say the least, even Matthias couldn’t help but smile at the fact that you were back. You made them tell you about all of the most significant things that you had missed in the year that you had been trapped inside and update you on any power shifts between the Barrel gangs. Jesper wouldn’t shut up, Wylan was excited to tell you about all of the new explosives and weapons that he had developed, and Nina was making a list of places that she wanted to get lunch together to make up for lost time. It felt amazing to be with them all again.

“Okay! I want to play a few hands of Three Man Bramble before I go.” You announced, pushing your glass away from you after downing the last of its contents.

“Don’t have to ask me twice.” Jesper grinned, slinging an arm around your shoulder and guiding you to a table.

It seemed apt that fortune seemed to be in your favour, winning so consistently that you continued to play even though you knew that you shouldn’t. It felt like every time that you looked up from the table you caught Kaz watching you, and his unashamed gaze made your heart flutter.

After a while you saw him give a slight nod towards the door, an action that meant that it was time to go, and you tucked you lip between you teeth as you gave a subtle nod back and turned your attention back to your cards.

“Unbelievable!” Jesper exclaimed upon seeing that you had won again. “I guess you’re catching up on a year’s worth of luck.”

“Perhaps, but I’m going to quit while I’m ahead.” You smiled, gathering up your winnings. “I need to go and breathe some more fresh air.” You pocketed half of your winnings and pushed the other half around the table to Jesper. “Not too much fun.”

“There’s no such thing as too much fun.” He beamed and pulled you to him so that he could plant a kiss on your cheek. “Good to have you back, Y/N.”

“Good to be back, Jes.” You winked before bounding back to the bar to say goodbye to the rest of your friends. Kaz had already disappeared, no doubt in an attempt to avoid drawing attention to the fact that you were leaving together.

“We’re going to get waffles tomorrow. I will break your door down if I have to.” Nina asserted, practically crushing your ribs in a hug. “Inej, you’re coming too.”

“What about me?” Wylan pouted, and you laughed.

“Everyone’s invited.” You replied, holding his face and turning it towards you so that you could press a soft kiss on his forehead before pulling him in for a hug. “I just got out, I want to spend time with you all!”

You kept your hug with Inej pretty short, considerate of the bad feelings that too much contact could stir up in her, and even managed to coax a hug from Matthias before you headed out. Kaz was waiting not far from the entrance and you smiled as you quickly made your way towards him

“Hey.” You chirped.

“You wanted it to be a surprise, huh?” He questioned, starting towards the Slat. You chuckled.

“I know you’re not a big fan of surprises, Kaz, but I thought this might be a fun one. Why? Were you offended that I told Inej and not you?”

“Did you have anyone go with you to your meeting?”

“No, I didn’t need any backup.”

“Things could have gone badly, and you didn’t tell anyone about it.”

“Well things didn’t go badly.” You rebutted. “I’m here, I’m fine, and I surprised you all.”

“You shouldn’t put yourself in danger like that.” Kaz said flatly, ignoring your point, and you groaned loudly at his stubbornness.

“If it makes you feel better, I made sure to drop your name in to intimidate them. But I can handle my own business.”

You hopped along the cobblestones playfully, irrationally happy to be back out on the filthy and foul smelling streets of the Barrel, but even the stink couldn’t dampen your joy at finally being free. You were sure that you and Kaz probably looked like a bizarre pair walking together now, him with his stoic exterior and identifying limp next to your childlike joy, though you had taken after him fashion wise with your smart attire and well-fitted, black coat.

Walking back to the Slat with Kaz took you in the opposite direction to your home – now that you were out of hiding you could finally return to where you actually lived in a house on the boundary of East Stave and the Zelver District – but you wanted to talk to Kaz, and he wouldn’t have asked you to leave with him if he didn’t want to talk to you too. Nevertheless, you continued the rest of the walk in silence.

When you got to the Slat, Kaz continued straight up to his room while you lingered on the ground floor to say hello to some of the Dregs that you were more friendly with. The noise of the Slat was unfamiliar to you after so long, but you had kind of missed the rowdiness of it.

You followed upstairs shortly after. Kaz had left his door ajar for you and you could see him sat at his desk through the opening.

“Shut the door behind you.” He said as you slipped inside, and you heard the door click as you push it shut after yourself.

“You wanna talk to me?” You questioned, walking over to lean on the side of the desk casually. “Or did you just want some time to look at my gorgeous face?” He did look up at you then, his eyes darting around to take in the entirety of your face, and you felt your heart flutter.

“How did your meeting go? What deals did you make?” He asked. You sighed. It wasn’t new that Kaz was asking about your business, he liked to know about what you were doing the same way that he liked to know about literally everything else, but you had hoped that this conversation would be a little less mundane than that. You had hoped that he might express an iota of joy that you were back.

“I can’t dock my ships in 3rd Harbour anymore.” You shrugged. “So I’ll stick to 2nd for imports going into the morning market, mostly 5th for everything else. There’s a few streets that I need to keep my business off of, and obviously I can’t try and undermine their operations anymore. That doesn’t mean that I won’t, it just means that I’ll be smarter about not getting caught.”

“And what do you get from them?”

“They leave me alone. I don’t need more than that. I mean, their terms are hardly going to impede my business anyway.”

“And your insurance?”

“You.” You smiled sweetly. “Very few people are bold enough to cross someone that has Kaz Brekker on side.”

“I thought you prided yourself on running an honest business.”

“I do. My association with you doesn’t make my business any less legit. I’m more honest than most of the Merchant Council anyway.”

“That’s fair.” He conceded with a slight nod.

Kaz had visited you a few times since the night that you had both let on about how much you cared about each other, but you hadn’t talked about it. It felt like the tension between you had been building and building like an elastic band ready to snap. It was driving you crazy.

“Anything else that you want to talk about?” You hinted. Kaz let out a long breath, his eyes sliding away from you for a moment. You could tell that he wanted to talk about it but he was struggling to get it out. “Because you haven’t told me that you’re glad I’m back yet.”

“I am glad that you’re back.” He affirmed, then he took a hard swallow. “We all missed you.” You smiled brightly at that.

You could hear the crows moving around on the half-roof outside of Kaz’s window and crossed the room to perch on the windowsill. There hadn’t been anywhere for the birds to land in the apartment that you had been cooped up in.

“Can I stay here for a while? I don’t want to be alone again just yet.” You said softly, tucking one knee up against your chest as you watched the birds through the glass.

“Sure.” Kaz answered.

You sat in silence for a while after that, which wasn’t unusual for you two. Before you had gone into hiding, you had spent many evenings with Kaz in his office just like this. Tonight felt different though. Something had opened between the two of you and now you couldn’t close it. The feeling permeated every corner of the room until you felt like you might explode if you didn’t break this silence, but, to your surprise, Kaz spoke first.

“I’ve been thinking about that day that I saw you outside the Crow Club.”

“Why?” You asked, blinking in surprise. Kaz was still facing forward at his desk, back turned to you, but his pen had stilled over the page.

“I watched you for a while, deciding whether to chase you off or recruit you for the Dregs.” He continued, ignoring your question. You were used to that too. “You were good at pickpocketing – you could spot a good mark, distracted them by pretending to beg for pennies – but you stayed in one place for too long.”

“I know, you told me at the time.” You smiled amusedly.

“I was just planning on telling you exactly that, but after I got your attention and you looked at me I knew that I had seen you before. It was in your eyes.” He turned around to look at you then, his gaze finding yours immediately. “Your eyes never changed.”

Kaz’s eyes had. Maybe that was why you hadn’t recognised him. Kaz Rietveld had eyes full of wonder and warmth, that were curious about everything and shone when he was happy. Kaz Brekker's eyes were cold, they held secrets. The curiosity had become analytical, and the shine had turned into a devious glint. Kaz Rietveld didn’t exist anymore, the R tattoo on Kaz’s bicep was the only relic of him, and you were the only one left to remember him.

“Crows remember the faces of those that are kind.” He finished softly.

“And that’s why you took me in? Because I was kind?”

“Because we were friends. We are friends.”

“Just friends?” You murmured, a challenge in your eyes. It wasn’t a provoking challenge, more of an encouraging one. You wanted to know where he stood and you wanted him to be able to tell you. He was silent for a long stretch.

“Would we ever be able to be more?” He asked. You knew what he meant. Kaz had built up so many walls that he didn’t know how to let down, and he knew that about himself. It was how he had survived, but it was a way of being that wasn’t very conducive to relationships. He didn’t think that he could do it.

“That depends on you.” You answered with a soft smile. “Because I’m not looking anywhere else.” Kaz swallowed and looked away quickly, but you swore that you had seen a hint of a blush in his cheeks.

A knock came at the door, and you cursed whoever was on the other side in your head.

“What is it?” Kaz called.

“There’s a man downstairs says he has a job for you.” Specht’s voice came through the wood. “Won’t talk to no one else but you.”

“I’ll be down in a minute.” Kaz replied, then muttered something under his breath bitterly. You heard the creak of Specht's retreating footsteps and Kaz turned to you. “Will you wait until I get back?”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

You watched Kaz leave the room and let out a long sigh once the door had closed behind him. You were finally talking about whatever it was that was between the two of you and you just had to get interrupted.

You shed your coat, dropping it lazily on the floor next to you, and rolled up your shirt sleeves. Despite the pressure put on you from some members of the Dregs, you had never gotten the crow and cup tattoo on your forearm. You had known from the start that you didn’t want to belong to the gang, no matter how thankful you were for the help that Kaz had given you.

When you had realised who it really was that had approached you that night outside the Crow Club, you had been shocked. He knew your name when he spoke to you, though he had seemed unsure of it, and you had furrowed your brow and asked if you knew him.

“It’s Kaz.” He had said, and you had blinked.

“Kaz Rietveld?” You had whispered in disbelief. His jaw had clenched, his shoulders stiffened.

“That’s not my name anymore.” He snapped. “It’s Kaz Brekker now.”

When you asked him why he had changed his name he had simply told you that it was easier that way. When you asked him about why he was in Ketterdam he had answered that his father had died and they had sold the farm. When you asked about Jodie he didn’t answer.

He had walked you to the Slat, told you not to talk to anyone, and brought you up to this very room. You had trusted him enough to follow. Despite his proud presence in the Barrel, despite the fact that he was walking you into the den of a gang, despite the fact that he was almost unrecognisable from the Kaz that you knew as a child, you had trusted him. And in the years that followed, he had never broken that trust.

He had helped you pay for the first boarding house that you purchased, come with you to the bank when you took out the loan to buy your first ship, had come to the harbour to see you off the first time that you had gone to Ravka.

Kaz had once reminded you of something from your childhood while around the other Crows, and once it had slipped that you and Kaz had been friends when you were young, people were constantly asking you about what he had been like. He never told anybody anything about himself and people had been eager to find a source of information on him, but most people had quickly come to realise that you weren’t going to say anything either. Kaz had never thanked you for your discretion, but you knew that he was glad for it.

If you were honest with yourself, you had found yourself drawn to him ever since you got your first glimpse through his cold and uncaring exterior and saw his loyal and protective nature. The pull had only grown since.

Your thoughts were broken by the sound of the door opening, and you looked over to watch Kaz enter. The door clicked shut behind him and he moved to the wash basin directly across the room from the window that you were sat in, set down his cane and pulled off his gloves .

“A good job?” You asked. He shrugged.

“A job that I’ll do.” He answered and began unbuttoning his shirt. You tried not ogle as he pulled it off and picked up the washcloth from the basin, but you caught sight of a reddened stripe of raised skin across his side and furrowed your brows.

“When did that happen?”

“A few days ago.”

“How deep did it go?”

“Not too deep.”

“It doesn’t look like you stitched it up properly.”

“It’s fine.” He dismissed. You rolled your eyes and got up from the window ledge. Kaz never took proper care of himself but he was always too stubborn to admit it.

“Let me see.”

“I said it’s fine, Y/N-"

“Kaz.” You interrupted sternly, meeting his eyes in the mirror. “I said let me see.” He held your gaze for a moment before letting out a huff and raising his arm so that you could get a better view of the wound.

You kept your distance as you looked over the injury, but you could clearly see that the stitches were sloppy on the end of the gash towards his back; the side that he couldn’t reach easily himself.

“You’re keeping it clean?”

“I know how to treat a wound.” He grumbled.

“I know that you know how, that doesn’t mean that I actually trust you to do it. You didn’t even have it bandaged or anything, what if it gets infected?”

“It won’t, Y/N, stop worrying so much.”

“Well, if you’re not going to worry about yourself then somebody else has to.” You exasperated. “At least bandage it.” You didn’t wait for a reply before you crossed over to the cabinet where he kept his impressive stock of medical supplies and grabbed a roll of gauze. Kaz caught it grudgingly when you tossed it to him and set it to the side while he finished washing his torso.

“You worry too much.” He muttered.

“It’s good for you.” You smiled.

You watched him as he unrolled the gauze and wrapped it around his body, carefully laying it over the wound with pale fingers that you rarely saw. He was precise, but he couldn’t see his back and the bandage twisted as he moved it between his hands.

“It’s folded.” You told him softly, taking half a step towards him. “I can fix it... if you want.” There was a beat of silence before Kaz nodded slightly.

You moved towards him slowly and reached for him even slower, your eyes constantly flicking back to the mirror to gauge the reaction on Kaz’s face. Your fingertips barely brushed over his back as you unfolded the downturned piece of bandage and you immediately stepped away when you were done. It took no more than a few seconds, but you could hear Kaz’s short breaths and when you looked at him in the mirror you could see that he had paled.

You picked up the clean shirt that was laid on his bed and held it out to him at full arms length. His hand shook as he took it from you. He pulled it on quickly, making short work of the buttons, and pulled his gloves back on hastily.

“Sorry.” You mumbled, though you weren’t exactly sure what you were apologising for.

“It’s because of Jordie.” Kaz’s voice was hoarse when he spoke, his eyes trained on his shoes. “Why I can’t touch anyone. It’s because when he died...”

“You don’t have to tell me, Kaz.” You said softly when he trailed off. He shook his head slightly and cleared his throat, squeezing his eyes shut for a few seconds.

“When Jordie died, I was sick too. It was the Queen's Lady plague. One night, I fell asleep in an alley and woke up on the Reaper's Barge.” He swallowed thickly, wringing his hands together thoughtlessly, and you could see sweat forming on his brow. “When my fever broke, I had to swim back to the harbour, and Jordie... whenever someone touches me, all I can feel is those corpses.”

Silence hung between you as you tried to find the words to respond. It was a lot of information to take in, but suddenly things made sense. Now you understood why Kaz had become the way that he was; why he was prone to shutting people out, why the light behind his eyes had dimmed.

“Kaz, I... I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say.”

“That’s okay.” He muttered. “I have work to do. You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.” He crossed the room to sit down at his desk, his movements tense. You watched him for a minute, unsure of what to do. It felt wrong to leave him alone right now, but you didn’t know if he would want you to stay.

“I’m sailing to Novyi Zem next week.” You said. It was the first topic that you could think of. “I’d really appreciate it if you could look over the rent ledgers while I’m gone.”

“Sure.” He replied flatly. Silence again.

“Will you come with us all to get waffles tomorrow?”

“I have work to do, and Nina didn’t invite me anyway.”

“Yeah, well, the celebration is for me and I’d really like for you to be there.” You smiled slightly. “She probably didn’t invite you because she knew you’d say no.”

“Smart of her.” Kaz responded, and you let out a frustrated huff.

“Don’t do that, Kaz. Don’t shut me out.” You complained. He didn’t answer at all. You folded your arms over your chest and went to stand beside his chair. “I don’t care that you can’t touch people, it doesn’t bother me. You went through trauma and that’s not your fault. What is bothering me is that you’re choosing to stay closed off to everyone. You can’t keep your walls up forever, you’ll kill yourself trying.”

“I can’t handle it, Y/N.” He snapped, his voice low. The gravel in his voice might have intimidated you into backing off if you weren’t so adamant on getting through to him.

“You’ll never be able to handle it if you don’t start trying.” You insisted. “Maybe if you’d just admit to yourself that you care about people it wouldn’t be so hard to see that we care about you too.”

Kaz pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes shut tightly, and released a long breath. You watched him, waiting for a response, not backing down. After a moment of silence, he glanced up at you.

“I can’t need anyone.” He said slowly. “Not after Jordie. I can’t let myself need anyone else.”

“You don’t have to need me, Kaz. You just have to want me.” You replied softly. His head snapped towards you and you actually saw his pupils dilate for the few seconds that he held your gaze before quickly turning away again. You hadn’t meant it like that, but you weren’t upset that he’d heard it that way.

“I don’t deserve you.” He muttered. You leaned against his desk, a sympathetic smile on your face even though he wasn’t looking at you.

“I’ve been around this long, I’m not going anywhere.” You promised. “There’s more to love about you than you think.”

Kaz tapped on his desk with a finger, a nervous action that he would usually suppress. Then, he took a sharp inhale and turned back to you.

“Okay.” He breathed. “I can try.” You bit down on your tongue in an attempt to suppress your grin, but you couldn’t stop the smile that stretched across your face.

“That’s all I ask.” You lilted. You stood up straight, pushing off of the desk and starting across the room to the window. You rolled your shirt sleeves down and snatched your coat up from the floor. “I’m going to head home. I expect to see you at my door promptly at eleven bells tomorrow morning, ready to get waffles.”

“Alright.” He nodded, breathing a single light laugh.

“Perfect. I’ll see you then.”

“Here, Y/N, these are for you.” He said quickly, picking up and couple of envelopes from his desk and holding them up for you. “You’ll have to make sure to notify your business partners of your change in mailing address.” You chuckled, going to take the letters from him, and he gave a small smirk as he handed them over.

“Thank you.” You smiled, before turning and heading to the door. “Eleven bells, Brekker. I know you’re a punctual man.”

“I’ll be there.” He affirmed. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Goodnight, Kaz.” You echoed softly before stepping out of the room and shutting the door behind you, a fond smile on your lips.

[ificouldhelpyouforget]

[15] Texas Forever, Street

MASTERLIST | DWHI MASTERLIST

Warnings: best friends saying goodbye

Words: 1.6k

Thursday after practice, Tim pulled up to Applebee's where I was taking time to talk to Tyra. I hadn't seen her in a long time and wanted to catch up on her break, so Tim and I planned to meet there after he was done.

Tim sat down across from me as Tyra said bye after greeting Tim. He lounged back and brushed his knee against mine. I smiled and asked about practice.

He ignored my question. "Do you wanna come to New York with me and Street?"

"New York? That's a long way from here."

"We leave tomorrow mornin' and we'll get back Sunday night. You'll only miss a day of school."

"Why are y'all goin' there?"

"Street has a girl up in New Jersey he's tryin' to get a job to support her with. There's someone up there he wants to talk to about it. He's really hopin' it works out. I'm goin' and I want ya to come, too."

"Tim." I took his hand and smiled softly. "Why do you need me to come? I'm not sayin' I won't, but I wanna know why."

"I don't wanna come back alone."

"Oh, Tim." I got up and sat next to him. I kissed his cheek and squeezed his hands. "Do you really think he's gonna stay?" I watched Tim's eyes get shinier before he turned to look out the window.

"Yeah." He cleared his throat. "Yeah. He's set on being with her and his kid. Dillon's gonna lose a great guy."

I turned his head toward me again. "Of course, I'll go with you. You'll need a tour guide, right?"

He kissed me. "I love you."

"You, too, Riggins." 

I stood up to go back to my side, but he grabbed my waist to pull me back. I didn't care that half the restaurant looked over at us when I laughed.

*****

New York was a place I flourished. I felt comfortable there, free amongst the buildings. It was that way every time I came to the big city. I was a big city girl in a country way of life. But looking at Tim talking to Jason, I was glad I lived in Dillon.

Before lunch, Jason bought some cheap suits for his chat and we brought him to the man with the job. Tim and I sat by the reception desk while Jason went into the office.

I put my head on Tim's shoulder, grabbing his hand. "You think he's gonna get the job?"

"He has to. It'll kill him if he doesn't. I've never seen him want anything this bad." Tim let his head fall back on the wall.

"Then it's our job to make sure he gets it. He deserves that from us. From you."

Tim looked at our hands. "I'm not sure I'm ready to tell him goodbye."

I kissed the side of his head. "It's not goodbye. He'll come back. We just need to be strong for him right now. We'll see him again if this all works out."

He closed his eyes and took slow breaths. Tim put his head on my shoulder and squeezed my hand.

When Jason came back out five minutes later in a huff, we knew it didn't go well. As soon as we were back on the streets, Jason started ranting. Tim and I patiently waited for him to calm down, but that didn't happen until the sun was almost gone and we were walking around Time Square.

Tim was ready to do something, suggesting we see the play Gypsy. I rolled my eyes, but I was willing to go if we could get Jason to take a second and chill.

"If you want this job then Wendell is your way in, Six," Tim said exasperated. "Go talk to him. Get him to pick the other guy. That's how you'll get the job."

Jason seemed genuinely surprised by Tim's idea. "Guess what we're doin' tomorrow?"

"Talkin' to Wendell?" I grinned.

Jason matched my enthusiasm.

"All right, all right. But we're goin' to this play first," Tim said, holding the bulletin up.

Jason agreed and started rolling forward.

I pulled Tim back to me to kiss him. "Thank you for doin' that for him."

"I don't want to hold him back."

"And you won't." Our lips connected again.

"Hey! Quit makin' out over there and let's go to that play!"

We pulled apart. I smiled sheepishly at Jason, taking Tim's hand, and pulling him behind me to catch up to our friend.

*****

Once again, Tim and I were left alone while Jason did the talking. That time we were able to walk around campus while he met with Wendell. It gave us a chance to talk more privately.

I held Tim's hand, strolling along the sidewalks. The campus was pretty, full of trees changing their leaves and old brick buildings. I didn't think schools could look that pretty.

"You thinkin' about college yet?" Tim asked me, looking at the gray sky.

"Sorta. There's a great school out in Florida – Full Sail University. It's the perfect school for art geeks like me."

"Florida's nice."

"I was thinkin' about doin' online courses. The school encourages it and has a great online program. I want to try it out, maybe stay in Dillon."

Tim stopped walking and embraced me. He spread his legs out to bring himself more to my level. I laughed and put my hands around his waist, threading each pointer through a belt loop on his jeans.

"You should go to Florida, Barton. You look like you belong in a city like this and going to that art college will be good for you. You don't have to stay in Dillon. If you're stayin' because of me, I told you I'd go with you."

"Tim, I can't make you leave Dillon. I know there are colleges askin' for you and maybe you should look into it." I kissed him. "I'm not tellin' you to go to any of them, just look into it. See if you feel like going."

He stood back at his full height and brushed my hair back. "I'll look into it because you're cute. If I decide I'm not goin', I'm comin' with ya to Florida."

"You're still gonna make me go there?"

"You want to go there."

I frowned. "How about I go for one year. You come with me if that's what you want, then we go back to Dillon where I take the rest of my classes online.

Tim kissed my forehead and smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

*****

Jason got the job. It was entry level, but it was a start. Convincing Wendell was the best move he had and it worked. As soon as Jason accepted the position, we were in a taxi to New Jersey. It was cramped in the back seat between the boys, but none of us cared with the strange silence growing in the vehicle.

The house Erin lived in was cute. Small, but cute. I climbed out after Tim and we worked together to get Jason in his chair. I saw them stare each other down, so I stepped around to the other side of the taxi to give them space. They started talking in low voices. My eyes instantly teared up when they struggled to keep it together. Sometimes life was cruel to best friends. I came back around when Jason met my gaze.

"You take care of him, Catherine," Jason said. "You're good for each other."

One tear rolled down my cheek. "Thanks, Jason."

He smiled once more before wheeling up to the front step.

I put my head on Tim's shoulder as we watched a pretty redhead come out with a chubby baby in her arms. Jason's posture changed at the sight, making me smile and cry at the same time. Their kiss broke my heart for Tim but mended it for Jason. I couldn't look up at Tim because I didn't want to see him upset. I didn't want to start sobbing right there.

"Let's go, Barton."

The force it took for him to speak leveled caused me to peer at him. His face was a lot to take in. My sigh was shaky. I wiped away my steady tears and brushed Tim's hair behind his ears. I kissed his cheek and tugged him behind me to the trunk so we could leave Jason's bag.

The drive to the airport was quiet. The flight was even quieter. We managed some small talk during the taxi ride to Tim's house.

The mood shifted when we saw Tim's truck parked in the bushes with a dent in the front of it. Inside, beer bottles were everywhere and Billy Riggins was out cold on the couch. Tim went over to wake him up.

"What the hell did you do to my truck, Billy? You had it for three days."

Billy stared at his brother confused, still waking up.

"You're gonna pay to get it back into better shape than before."

They started arguing until Billy said it.

"Mindy broke up with me."

The tension fizzled. 

Tim sighed at his brother. "You're still payin' for it. Come on, Cat."

Tim led me into his room where he fell back on his bed, rubbing his face.

"I'm sorry, Tim," I said, shedding my coat. "Is there somethin' I can do for you?"

"You can get over here and spoon with your boyfriend. That'd be a big help."

I smiled and crawled onto the bed. I tugged on the collar of his coat. "Are you thinkin' of sleepin' in this?"

His eyes met mine and he smirked. "Who said we were sleepin'?"

[babymetaldoll]

Baby Reid (Spencer Reid/Reader)

Requested: Yes

Matthew x reader, his wife (the reader) goes into labor, and the next story is the same thing but spencer Reid x reader.

A/N: This was fun to write! tomorrow I’ll post MGG’s story

Summary: Spencer Reid is about to be a father, and he can't stop thinking about everything that could go wrong.

Pairing: Spencer Reid/Reader

Category: Fluff

Word count: 2K

Warning: I curse like a sailor

Masterlist

You can also read Baby Gubs

.

That was it. It was the moment (Y/N) and Spencer had been waiting impatiently for the last couple of weeks. Being pregnant was the most amazing experience of her life; (Y/N) still couldn't believe she was carrying a little baby Reid inside her. But after 40 weeks, she wanted it to end. It was time to have that baby.

But baby Reid wasn't ready to face the real world just yet, and their little princess was three days late after the due date. The doctor had told the couple if it passed from Sunday, they would do a c-section. Lucky for (Y/N), that Friday afternoon, baby Reid decided it was time.

(Y/N) was all alone, reading a book, lying on her bed, enjoying a big bowl of chocolate ice cream, when suddenly, it happened. Her water broke. She had been feeling contractions for the last hour, but after three false alarms, she wasn't concerned at all until she felt her legs all wet.

Trying to remain calm, she grabbed her phone and dialed Spencer's number. Aaron knew they were about to be parents and had given Reid only desk duty those last couple of weeks so that he could be there for the birth of his daughter, Helena Reid.

- "Hey Buttercup, how are you?"- Reid was swamped in paperwork when he received his wife's call- "I was about to go out for lunch with Penelope."

- "I think you might like to reschedule that"- (Y/N) smiled for a second until a powerful contraction left her speechless for a moment.

- "Why? what is it?"

- "Your daughter decided to come and meet us. This time it's for real."- Spencer's heart stopped, and his hand started shaking immediately.

- "Are you sure?"- he whispered and closed his eyes. He was about to have a panic attack, but he had to remain calm. He had to, no matter what, for the sake of his wife. So, he did his best and talked to her in the most soothing voice possible.

- "Yes, honey. My water just broke"- Reid's heart stopped again.

- "H... ho... how often are the contractions?"- Spencer cleared his throat and packed all his things as fast as he could, considering he was too nervous to remember what to put in his satchel.

- "Every eight minutes."

(Y/N) knew Spencer was freaking out. He told her he was mentally prepared for that moment, and he would be a rock for her. But she knew better. Spencer could pretend to be calmed, but deep inside, he was going to be hyperventilating.

- "I'm on my way, give me a second"- he stood up and bumped into Penelope- "Garcia, I can't have lunch with you. (Y/N) is in labor! I have to take her to the hospital."

Penelope wide opened her eyes and started hyperventilating immediately.

- "Is that her on the phone?"

- "Yes! I have to go now."

- "I love you, munchkin!!"- Garcia yelled- "I'll see you at the hospital, I'll tell the team, they were on their way back from New York"- Spencer nodded and ran to the elevator.

- "I'm here, buttercup. Keep talking to me, ok?"

- "Ok... so... tell me about your morning."

- "It was boring. Nothing exciting happened until I found out I'm about to be a dad."

(Y/N) smiled and tried to concentrate on her breathing, keeping it as slow and relaxed as she could.

- "Are you ok?"- he asked, so concerned and excited he forgot which way to go to get to his car. He had started driving to work when they got pregnant, in case of any emergency.

- "Yes, just breathing... I can't stop thinking, do we have everything we need?"

- "Yes, don't worry, babe. We are ready,"- Spencer reassured. Those words were not just for her, but also for him too- "How is the pain?"

- "On a scale from one to ten? Like a four. I can deal with it until we get to the hospital."

.

Spencer drove as fast as he could, trying to think like Morgan behind the wheel. He had argued against the way he drove for years, and now, Reid was doing exactly everything he had disagreed with.

- "I'm parking outside"- he announced his wife, but she didn't reply- "(Y/N), babe..."

- "I'm here"- she whispered- "Pain is starting to go from four to six very quickly."

- "It's ok; it's ok. I'm almost there."

Reid opened the door of their apartment and ran to their bedroom. (Y/N) had taken the bedsheets and was now trying (and failing) to put clean sheets in it.

- "No, buttercup"- Spencer nearly yelled and stopped her- "Leave that, come on, let's go."

- "Sorry, I just didn't want to leave the bed with..."

- "It's ok, I'll take care of that later. It doesn't matter"- (Y/N) felt his arms around her waist as they walked towards the door. That's when she stopped and squeezed his hand.

- "Breath, buttercup, you are doing awesome."

- "Shit, they are getting worse"- she mumbled and tried to think of anything else- "The bag is in the car?"

- "Yes. And we'll call your midwife and your parents from the car."

(Y/N) nodded and started walking again, but stopped all of a sudden.

- "Wait, come here"- she tugged his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck- "You are gonna be a dad, Spencer"- and the smile that appeared on his face was enough to light a whole city.

- "I love you so much, buttercup"- he kissed her lips sweetly and sighed- "You are incredible."

- "Remember that in case I turn into a monster when the pain gets worse"- she smiled and felt his lips on hers again.

- "Noted."

.

After six hours in labor, (Y/N) was turning into a monster. She was uncomfortable and in pain, and baby Reid had decided to take her time.

Spencer had prepared for months for that moment. He kept everything you might imagine in his car that could help (Y/N) be comfortable during the whole labor process. Spencer had to be ready whenever the moment came. He played her favorite playlist, and he gave her tummy massages with essential oils to help her relax. Nothing was working, but he meant well.

He had read every book about parenthood he could find. And though he was more than prepared for that moment, he was too scared and worried to think straight.

.

- "Come on, Helena"- Spencer kept talking to the tummy and held his wife's hand as she tried to get some rest- "Your mom and I want to meet you"- the hard grip on his hand let him know his wife was in the middle of a contraction. They were every three minutes now.

- "We'll only have one kid,"- (Y/N) whispered, and Spencer smiled. He moved closer and kissed her temple- "I know we said we wanted three babies, but one is all I can take."

- "You know, many women often claim to forget all the pain of labor after giving birth. It's called the 'Halo effect'"

- "We'll see if that theory is real soon, I hope."

.

Spencer was trying to soothe her, though someone should be calming him too. He was scared anything could go wrong. Statistics were hunting his mind the whole time. If something went wrong, if something happened to his wife and daughter, he would lose his mind.

- "How is she?"- Penelope asked Reid when he appeared in the waiting room. The rest of the team was there, waiting for the news.

- "Tired. It's been six hours already"- he sighed and closed his eyes- "I feel so useless! there's nothing I can do to help her!"

- "Come on, Spence"- JJ rubbed his arm and smiled at him, trying to calm him down- "There's a lot of things you can do to make her feel better."

- "I know, but I'm scared of everything that might go wrong."- Reid confessed and sat next to Morgan- "What if..."

- "No"- Derek stopped him and tapped on his back a couple of times, as a way to shake those thoughts away from his head- "There's no room for "what if" today, pretty boy. No overthinking and no statistics. You have to be a rock for your wife, ok?"

Spencer widened his eyes, looking at Derek, and nodded. He knew his friend was right. It wasn't time to be scared. It was the time to support his wife, no matter what.

.

- "Ok, Mrs. Reid, let's see if you are ready"- the midwife walked in and smiled at (Y/N). She turned to her husband, who stared at her in a weird mix of excitement and panic.

- "Ok, mom,"- the midwife said, happily- "Are you ready to push?"

- "Fuck!!"- though (Y/N) had already the epidural, the pain was excruciating- "Let's do this."

While (Y/N) and her midwife were looking for a comfortable labor position, Reid took a step back and tried to breathe calmly. All the stories of birth going wrong were coming to his mind at the same time. What if the baby came in the wrong position? What if his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck? What if (Y/N) bleed too much? What if her pelvis was too small?

- "Spencer!!"- he heard her yell suddenly, reaching out her hand to him- "I need you."

Those three words were the most powerful he had ever heard before. He held his wife's hand and kissed her forehead.

- "I'm here, I'm with you. Forever, ok?"- (Y/N) nodded and bit her lips tight- "Breath, baby, just breath."

- "I'm trying!!"

- "Come on, Mrs. Reid... on three, you can do this!! one, two..."

Spencer counted along with the midwife and held (Y/N)'s hand tight each time she had to push. He wished there was anything else he could do to make her feel better. If Reid could, he would go through the whole process instead of her, only to keep her from being in pain. He couldn't believe his wife was going to make him a dad. It was his whole life's dream, and now, it was about to happen.

- "I can see her head! Just two more pushes! come on!!"

- "I can't"- (Y/N) sighed and closed her eyes, exhausted- "I can't do this, I'm too tired."

Spencer carefully pressed a wet towel on her forehead and kissed her temples.

- "You can do this, buttercup, one more time."- he whispered in her ear.

- "I can't, honey... it's too hard."

- "I know it's hard, and I wish you didn't have to go through all this. But I know you are strong, stronger than me, by far."- Spencer held and kissed her hand. (Y/N) took a deep breath and made her best to push as hard as possible.

- "One more time!! Just one more time, Mrs. Reid"- the midwife said. Spencer kept his eyes locked on his wife and brushed sweetly the hair that covered her face. She looked at him and nodded, closed her eyes, and pushed one last time.

The crying of a newborn had never sounded so sweet. Spencer saw in slow motion how the midwife took his little daughter and placed it on (Y/N)'s chest. He couldn't move. He just looked at that scene with teary eyes, feeling his chest swelling with love.

- "She's so tiny"- (Y/N) whispered- "Hello, Helena, I'm your mommy, and he is your daddy. He loves you so much"- Spencer's chin quivered, and in a second, he was crying. There he was with his family. His wife and his baby. Everything he had ever dreamt of.

Spencer leaned in slowly, kissing his daughter's head carefully.

- "You are incredible"- he whispered to his wife and kissed her too- "I didn't think it was possible, but now I actually love you even more. You just gave me a family."

- "I'd give you everything you ever ask me, Spencer Reid"- she answered and kept her eyes on their newborn- "Just don't ask now, 'cos I'm a little tired..."- Reid smiled and shook his head.

- "With you two here, I've got everything I'll ever need."

[purecantarella]

The Photographer

belated happy lia day! i worked on this with the hwasa fic i'm about gonna post tomorrow but yeah, i hope you all enjoy and happy birthday to lia 😁💗this is short but i think it's nice AHAHHHA disclaimer/s : none, this is just pure fluff 😇

The way you lived was unorthodox to some people but it was just the way you preferred to exist. You were a free-lance photographer and loved the feeling of not being tethered; to any place or any person. Being free to do what you wanted without judgement or consequences.

While you'd grown acquainted with different kinds of people, grew close with a few locals, and took many personalities to your bed, no one had been able to keep you tied down for more than a few days. No one.

After your 22nd birthday, you found yourself exploring the bustling city of Seoul, as per a recommendation by someone you'd met in Japan. It was a beautiful country with rich culture and a new adventure. You thought it'd be a nice stop-over before you continued to the Philippines.

At first, you were lost. Not a lot of people spoke the English and if you didn't know the language a lot of the locals couldn't help or understand you. Instead, you wondered around the busy and loud city. Enjoying the sights and taking still shots of whatever you found interesting. It was nice.

The cold night air began nipping at you as you walked around looking for somewhere to eat. You were slowly becoming frustrated because of the language barrier. As you were about to just call it a night and maybe just find some instant ramen noodles at a nearby convenience store for you to eat at your rented room, a girl, one of the most beautiful you'd seen in a while, walked up to you.

"Are you okay? You seem a tad bit lost." She asked you in English. You sighed in relief and laughed softly. The brunette raised a brow curiously. You waved your hand, "I'm just glad to understand someone. I've never actually spoken a lick of Korean." You said, relief and a bit of comfort washed over you.

You'd found it a bit odd though, that sense of familiarity with this stranger. None of your friends or your hook-ups had made you feel this way. Deciding it was nothing you shook it off. You offered your hand to the girl, "I'm Y/F/N. Nice to meet you Miss...?"

She was rather surprised. While it was a welcomed surprise, she still found it odd that you didn't know her. The brunette gave you her signature smile, taking your extended hand. "Julia, but just call me Lia." You nodded, biting your lower lip excitedly. The warmth of her hand radiated onto your cold one. The touch lingered for a while, your eyes not breaking contact with one another. Her crescent eyes and radiant smile made it hard to turn away. The moment could have lasted forever until you heard a soft cough from behind you.

Lia snapped her head behind her, a hot rush painting her cheeks as she stammered some things in Korean to her friends behind her. You stood behind her, the words they spoke just deflecting off of you. Your eyes trailed down to your hand. How it tingled and sent shocks through your body.

'This is new...' You thought to yourself as your gaze returned to the newly acquainted friend. She seemed to still be in a heated debate with the other girls as you shifted from the back of your foot to the tip of it. Their voices had hushed a little as Lia walked back to you.

A smile had returned to your face before you pointed to the group behind her. "Your friends seem fun." You said awkwardly, a soft laugh following after. She scoffed and rolled her eyes before the faux annoyed expression melted into an adorable little grin. Once again, you felt your heart unexpectedly skipping a beat.

"I should leave you to it and—" You were instantly cut off by her shaking her head profusely and spitting out a fast-paced series of "no's". "It seemed like you didn't know anyone and I wanted to lend a hand." You were taken aback. It wasn't the first time a local had offered this sort of thing in your life. A lot of people were like this girl, friendly and wanted to show the tourist around. But there was just something about this girl.

You let out a soundless laugh while nodding your head. "I'd really like that, maybe not tonight though. I wouldn't want you to stay out too late." You said sheepishly, rubbing the back of your neck. Lia looked up at you before pulling out her phone, staring and scrolling through it intently. "I'd love to but would..." She paused before settling on a day. "...Thursday be good?" You chuckled softly at her hopeful face.

While you knew that your flight was early Tuesday, you nodded confidently. You two exchanged numbers before she'd disappeared with her friends and two tall men. You tried not to raise a brow at the latter though. That night your thoughts were flooded by the gorgeous girl, her pale complexion, moon-shaped eyes, the smile on her face, her overall form. Like all the sights in the world you'd seen were nothing compared to her, to Lia.

You tried to shake off the feelings that began to creep up on you though at the same time you awaited Thursday to arrive anxiously. You two texted between your sightseeing in the city. In all honesty, her silly texts and updates had been the highlight of your trip. You found yourself waiting for her replies to each of the photos you sent her.

On the day you'd set to meet, you thought that you'd had a stronger bond with her. And yes that was a good thing, but it just made you feel even more terrified of this foreign territory. You sat at the park she'd told you about, your leg bouncing as you eyed the scenery. "She's just a girl, Y/n...Calm down..." You muttered to yourself, leaning back into the bench. You continue to gather your thoughts when your suddenly jolted and someone yells, "Boo!"

You jumped and were just about ready to fight the perpetrator. You softened seeing Lia laughing hysterically. "You're adorable, Y/n!" She cooed softly before circling around to wrap her arms around your neck comfortably.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting." She said as she pulled away enough to see your, now flushing, face. You shook your head, a dopey smile gracing your features. Lia's embrace lingered for a moment. Your heart pounded against your chest. "So miss Lia, where are you taking me?" Your body becoming more and more tense under her touch. She took your hand hers, dragging you to some location in the outskirts of the city.

By the time you'd got there it was around lunch time. You'd learned a few of the important phrases and ordered something. Lia looked at you impressed, even making a point by clapping. The afternoon flew by quickly, she told you all about her being an idol, her intense lifestyle while you shared all of your adventures in different countries and taking stolen and posed photos of her. With every story, you found her more and more intriguing. She was a mystery that you wanted to solve, the polaroid you patiently waited for to dry.

"Come on!" The brunette said suddenly, pulling you up from the grass that you'd been sitting on as you scrolled through your camera's photos. You laughed as you jumped onto your feet, blindly following her. "Choi Lia where are you taking m—Woah..." The orange glow of the sunset painted over the city, the lights of building providing the perfect accent, and greenery in the city was perfectly set.

"Holy crap." You whispered under your breath. Your hands falling from the camera's sides instead weighing over your neck. Lia watched your amazed face before locking her arm in yours. She giggled at the dumbfounded face. A big smile grew on your face. For the first time in years, you're heart felt full.

You took a few steps back, taking shots of the view. Before continuously muttering out profanities and comments on the different aspects and features. Lia watched you get lost in your passion and smiled. She looked out into the scenery. In the few days she knew you, she knew that you'd be one of the people who could appreciate the beauty of simplicity. She turned her head back t the veiw.

"It's beautiful." You mumbled, still in awe. You took a glance at Lia's distracted expression. Your shoulders fell and a fleeting, small smile grew on your face. Lifting the camera back, you took her silhouette against the dimming orange. "Out of all the places I've ever been, this has to be the best." You added, catching her attention. Your E/C eyes glued onto Lia's face, her aura, everything. Her pale cheeks adding an extra glow. For a second, a sparkle in both your eyes could be seen by anyone who passed. When you finally said,

"It would make anyone want to stay, wouldn't you say?"

i thought it was cute HAAHAHAHAH what do you guys think 😅also, probably a hwasa fic tomorrow! i hope this was good for everyone and that you all enjoyed it...even if it was kinda predictable HAHAHA anyway, remember that requests are open and criticism is 1000% accepted and even welcomed. i hope you're all safe and i will see you all very soon 😊💗 taglist: @labrachrosite

[whumperooni]

Hii!! If you're up for it, could you write something about Katsuki-nii? I just wanna be his wittle wife, stealing his clothes, being bred full of his cum, constantly hanging of his arm and talking about how much I love him. People might think we're too close for siblings, but they know better than to say anything, just like i know better than to be anything but Katsuki-nii's good little sister-wife.👉👈💕

Despite being one of my favorite characters, I haven’t written Katsuki before so please be gentle! o( _ _ )o

tags/warnings: tw incest, a smidge of jealousy and possessiveness and insecurity, aged up characters 

You hear the whispers. You always do.

“She’s here again?”

“What kind of adult woman still makes lunch for her older brother?”

“Isn’t it kind of weird? I mean...why is she always over him like that? And the way she dresses...it’s like...”

“Don’t they live with each other? That’s a bit strange, right?”

They whisper. They whisper, but they never really give voice to the uncomfortable thoughts and suspicions clouding their minds and filling their drum, dull days with the scandals they crave.

They whisper and you? You don’t listen.

You don’t need to listen- they don’t matter, their opinions don’t matter, the stares and gossip and mindless speculation don’t matter.

The only person who matters is Katsuki and, to a lesser degree, yourself.

Why should you care about others when your shining light- your sun, your heart, your darling big brother- is there to eclipse them with all his love and adoration?

➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺

“Don’t you think they’re a little too close?”

More whispers, more gossip, more nosy busybodies trying to forget their own troubles by trying to bury themselves in you and your brother’s life.

It’s sad, really.

You ignore the raised brows and mouths hidden by hands and snuggle a little closer to your nii-san. He rolls his eyes, huffs, but his arm wraps around your waist a bit more firmly and his hand squeezes your waist, his fingers dig into your hip with a little flex.

“Nii-san, should I make curry or yakisoba tonight?”

“Mabo Dofu.”

You hum and you nod, mentally tack on the chore of going to the grocery store after you’re done here. You need to pick up his dry cleaning, too, and you need to remember to press Katsuki’s suit for his meeting with the hero commission in the morning.

Oh, and you need to lay out your dress for the dinner with the Todoroki’s tomorrow night.

Ah, tomorrow is going to be busy.

“Oh my gosh is that Dynamight?!”

Fingers dig into your hip again and you know that your big brother is irritated without having to look. He’s tired today- annoyed- and you know that the squealing call of a fangirl is not exactly what he wants to hear.

Poor nii-san- it must be tough having to deal with so much attention sometimes.

(Though, he does deserve the attention- he’s such a good hero; strong and handsome and eye catching without even having to try.

He’s perfect.)

“Dynamight! Dynamight! Will you sign my planner?!”

Two girls pop up right in front of- eyes sparkling and wonder on their faces, their proximity much too close. They don’t seem to notice you at first, but that’s okay- nii-san is the one who deserves the attention after all.

“Oh my gosh, I just love you so much! You’re so- oh.”

Ah, and now there’s disappointment on both their faces- expressions falling and pouts pushing rouged lips out, something almost irritated crossing over them.

Again, that’s okay- you’re used to it.

One of them- clearly the bolder of the two- eyes you without restraint. Her head cocks and her arms fold across her chest, her brows furrow.

“Is this- I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”

Girlfriend? Oh, that’s cute.

You’re much more than a girlfriend.

Before your big brother’s temper can snap, you fix a sweet smile on your face- head resting on Katsuki’s shoulder and a giggle slipping from you.

“Oh, no- I’m his sister!”

“Sister...?” the other one asks, brows knitting together to match her friend’s.

Her eyes dart to the strong arm keeping you firmly against your big brother and you let your smile grow when she looks back up at you, give her a nod.

“Yep! Dynamight’s one and only little sister,” you chirp.

Katsuki snorts and you have to stifle a giggle when the girls exchange a look between them. Before they can say anything else, you nudge your big brother- smile softening when you feel him pull you just a little bit closer.

“Katsuki, sign her planner!” you urge him. You smile at the girl who hadn’t asked for any autographs and she seems to startle a little, flush whenever you prompt her with, “Do you have anything you want signed?”

She hesitates before giving a small nod and you watch as she starts digging around in her purse, detach yourself gently from your brother so he can carry out his duty to his fans.

He does so, with some grumbles and huffs, and the girls are aware enough not to push for a photo- scurry away with eyes lit up once again and excited squeals leaving them. You watch them with a smile and then reward your brother with a kiss to his cheek.

That gets him relaxing, just slightly, but you make a mental note of being extra attentive to him once he gets home from work.

“Nii-san,” you murmur, “I’m going to head off, okay? I need to pick up groceries.”

“Fine,” he grunts. “Just make sure to get some sansho.”

“I know, nii-san,” you huff, fondly. Another press of your lips to his cheek and then you squeeze his hand, smile at him with all the warm love you have. “I love you.”

“...love you.”

It’s rough, quiet, but it still has you beaming all the same.

You flounce off to run your errands- mind swirling with all the ways you can make your big brother happy.

➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺

It’s not too big of a surprise whenever you run into Sero at the store- he works in the same city as your big brother and you do run into him every once in a while.

What is a surprise is the way he rubs his neck sheepishly in the middle of chatting, when he smiles at you with a spark of hope in his eyes and a nervousness you’re not quite used to from him.

“Hey, I was wondering- are you free on Saturday? I thought maybe we could grab dinner or something...”

Your head tilts and you blink at him- surprised by the question.

Is he asking you out on a date?

“Oh, I’m sorry, Sero- on Saturday Katsuki and I are going to the movies. And we have a lunch with Kirishima planned.”

For a moment, Sero looks a little dejected. But then he’s smiling again and nodding.

“Oh, yeah, I get that. What about Sunday?” he asks- persistent but not quite pushy.

You smile at him and it’s guilty, a little apologetic.

Sero is nice. Friendly. You’re sure he’d make for a great date.

Maybe in another life...

No, in another life you’d still find your way back to Katsuki.

You shake your head, fingers flexing on your shopping cart and your expression softens even when his own smile wanes.

“Sunday we’re having lunch with the family. And Katsuki promised he’d take me shopping...”

“Ah...”

It’s quiet for a moment, awkward. Sero scratches his cheek and he forces his lips back up, rubs the back of his neck again in a way that seems a little...frustrated.

“You, uh, you spend a lot of time with your brother,” he says, words coming out in a near mumble. “Don’t you ever have time to yourself? Time for a boyfriend or anything?”

A boyfriend?

You almost huff, but you just smile instead- big and sweet as you shake your head with a soft laugh.

“Why would I need a boyfriend when I have my nii-chan?”

And, with that, Sero’s face falls completely- features distorting with something that you can’t quite name, something that almost almost has you feeling ashamed.

“Right...”

More awkwardness after that. Sero makes his excuses to leave and he detracts himself- a frown on his face as he leaves you all alone with your shopping cart and a faint, quiet sadness that you quickly push away.

You shake your head and clear your thoughts, look down at your shopping list.

Right, you still need to get the sansho. And you should pick up some beer for Katsuki, too.

With a hum, you continue your shopping- the exchange forgotten for thoughts of domesticity and all the plans you have with your big brother instead.

➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺

“Fuck.”

Your lips quirk into a smile at Katsuki’s groan and you wander over to him with a beer in hand, press a doting kiss to his cheek before sliding into his lap.

“Long day?” you ask in a murmur, hands running over his chest.

You get a grunt in response- Katsuki’s head lolling back with another groan whenever your hands begin to knead at his shoulders, soothe tight knots.

“Fuckin’ reporters got the jump on me,” he huffs. “And goddamn Deku wouldn’t stop talkin’ to ‘em.”

You make a sympathetic little noise and run a hand up until you can stroke your fingers through the hair at the base of his skull. Something close to a sigh leaves him when you begin to massage there and you feel your heart melting a little as you watch the tension so very slowly begin to bleed from him.

“I’m sorry, nii-san,” you tell him- sincere, voice soft. “That sounds like a pain.”

Another grunt and you hum, drape your arms over your big brother’s shoulders and press a gentle kiss to his lips.

“You need to relax, nii-san,” you mumble, pressing closer when his hands grip your waist. “I wanna help...”

“Then help.”

It comes out as a growl and you shiver from it, rock yourself against your big brother and slot your lips against his.

➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺

“Is that what you’re wearing?”

You blink and look over your shoulder at your big brother, look down at your dress.

It’s simple- form fitting, yes, but not overly tight. A pretty dress with pretty flaring pleats and a cute sweetheart neckline, heels and stockings to match. You’re wearing one of the necklaces Katsuki has bought you- a copper choker with an o-ring in the middle, tiny and shining rubies dotting along the copper band.

It’s one of your favorites- something he had bought you when he first started the agency. The dress is new, but it’s a favorite, too.

“You don’t like it?” you ask him, frowning just a tiny bit.

Katsuki huffs and he walks over to you, wraps his arms around your waist and rests his chin on top of your head with a scowl.

“I like it,” he grumbles. “I’m sure Icyhot will like it too.”

Ah, now you see what the problem is.

A sigh leaves you and you gently place your hands over his, look him over in the mirror.

Slacks, a button up that’s not quite buttoned up. Simple and not his style, but something that makes him look so very handsome. You love it when he’s dressed up a little and you know that he likes it when you dress up, too.

“Nii-san,” you murmur. “I don’t care if Shoto likes it or not- I only care if you do.”

It’s true- it really is.

The words have Katsuki’s scowl softening, just a little, and you turn your head so you can press a kiss to his jawline, hum whenever he tilts his head back so you can lay another on his neck.

“I don’t like the way he looks at you,” he huffs- still so grumpy, his arms tightening around you. “Don’t like the way fuckin’ Natsuo looks at you either.”

“Katsuki...”

You turn around before he can grumble any more and you cup his face, kiss him and try to show him just how much you care for him and no one else.

“Nii-san,” you tell him, soft and adoring and sincere as can be, “it doesn’t matter if they look at me. I don’t care. I love you. You’re all that matters to me.”

Katsuki’s expression flickers with something fond, with something near vulnerable. It’s gone in a second, though, and then you’re backed against the wall, your brother’s lips are meeting yours.

“You’re mine,” he breathes against you, fingers digging into your hips and your dress bunching up underneath them. “Mine.”

His lips find your neck and you’re left mewling, clinging to him and rocking against a thick thigh whenever he slips it between yours.

“Yours,” you gasp out- Katsuki’s teeth nipping at you, his hands dragging you up and down his leg. “I’m- oh- I’m all yours!”

Katsuki grunts and then one of his hands are gone, then there’s the sound of a zipper being pulled down. He lifts you and you moan at the display of strength, wrap your legs around him when his cock ruts against you. It takes just a quick second for him to push your panties to the side and you shudder when you feel him pressing against your entrance, cling to him and claw your nails into his back.

“So fucking wet.”

You are- you really are. How can you not be when you’re held up like this- your big brother lifting you like you weigh nothing, vermilion gaze burning as he takes in how quick your cheeks flushed and how fast your face falls needy and hazy? How can you not be when he looks at you as if you’re everything- a beautiful bounty, a delicious treat, a darling little sister, a perfect wife?

“Please, nii-san,” you mewl, beg. “Please- I need you!”

A growl and then your big brother is sliding into you- stretching you open with his big cock and making you moan, whine his name.

“Gonna fuckin’- shit- gonna fuckin’ fill you up,” he grunts- no time wasted as he starts to thrust, sends your head spinning as he fucks you against the wall. “Fill up my girl’s cunt.”

It’s a promise as strong and sure as anything. You whimper, nod, and press a needy, clumsy kiss to his lips, clench around his cock at the thought.

“Gonna rip off these panties,” he growls- near snarls. “Fuckin’ drip my cum all over the Todoroki’s house- show them who you belong to!”

Oh, fuck.

The thought of that has you keening and you nod along to the words, gasp and hold onto him desperately as heat sears through you- as overwhelming pleasure has you choking up, almost sobbing.

“Yes! Nii-san, please! I’m- please- show them-”

Katsuki moans and it’s hot against your neck, broken up by an open mouthed kiss and his lips sucking a deep bruise over your flesh. You start to come- lashes fluttering and a sob slipping past your lips- and his teeth dig in deeper to your throat, the snapping of his hips gets faster, harder.

“Good- fuck- good girl. My good girl- comin’ on nii-san’s cock like a good lil slut- you’re so fuckin’- shit- say you’re- say you’re-”

“I’m yours, nii-san! Yours! Yours! I love you!”

A growl, a groan, a slam of his hips and then Katsuki is coming coming coming- filling you up to the brim and over it. You’re pushed over the edge and then you’re coming with him- mewling and clawing at him, pressing desperate and frantic kisses to him.

You only stop when his hips slow down, when he’s finished humping his seed into you. You’re both left panting then- his forehead pressed against yours and his cock softening inside of you, his eyes muddied and soft as they look over your dreamy, fucked out expression.

He slips out of you and he sets you on your feet- big hands landing on your waist to keep you steady and his lips finding yours in a slow, gentle kiss. Katsuki straightens your dress for you and he swipes smeared mascara out from under your eyes, presses a kiss to your forehead and has you sighing, letting out a soft and sweet noise of contentment.

“Mmm, I love you, nii-san...I love you so much...”

Katsuki huffs and he kisses you again- hand cupping your face, thumb smoothing over your cheek and you’re graced with a mumble in return- a quiet little “I love you too.”

➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺➺

Twenty minutes later you’re sitting in the Todoroki’s living room- your big brother’s arm thrown over your shoulder, your panties stuffed in his pocket, his cum drying on your thighs and the last of his seed slowly oozing out of your cunt as you sit there and smile, lean against Katsuki.

You love your brother, you do.

You’ll always love your brother. You’ll always be his.